Apparatus and method for fixing and transporting crabs during slaughter

A method for fixing and transporting crabs during the slaughter thereof, comprising the steps:

• rotational driving of a conveying element with at least one holding apparatus;
• loading of the holding apparatus with a crab in the region of a loading station;
• wherein, for loading the holding apparatus, the crab is pushed onto a supporting plate of the holding apparatus with a bone plate of the crab downwards, mouth forwards and legs projecting laterally in transport direction T of the conveying element;
• and the crab is then fixed on the supporting plate on both sides of the shell in the region of the legs by lowering two holding means of the holding apparatus, which are arranged transversely to the transport direction T at a distance from each other, by pivoting from a receiving position of the holding means into a clamping position about an axis AH directed substantially in or parallel to the transport plane E and transversely to the transport direction T;
• wherein the crab thus fixed is transported further into the region of at least one processing station;
• characterised in that the holding means before reaching the final clamping position, in which the holding means are, however, lower than the shell of the crab, are moved towards each other transversely to the transport direction T underneath the shell until the holding elements rest on a body mass of the crab on both sides in the region of the shoulder joints, before the holding means are then lowered completely into the final clamping position about the axis AH.