One Richmond seafood shop is getting grilled online after a customer shared a disturbing experience involving alleged spoiled crabs.
Posted to r/richmondbc, the viral Reddit thread (with 470+ upvotes) warns shoppers to “avoid” a specific Steveston seafood shop after the original poster, Available_Ad3598, purchased a box of supposedly live crabs – only to discover the bottom ones were already dead by the time they got home.
Not only were the crabs lifeless, but the post describes them as “leaking liquid,” “dark in colour,” and with “every single leg fallen off”.
AVOID this seafood shop at Steveston
byu/Available_Ad3598 inrichmondbc
That’s a major red flag for foodborne illness risk.
As many know, dead crabs spoil quickly and can become highly unsafe to eat.
But what really fueled the fire was the shop’s alleged response.
According to the post, the owner dismissed concerns, refused a refund, and said, “It’s normal to have some dead crabs in there. You can come back and I’ll show you another box.”
Yikes.
That prompted dozens of users to flood the comments with outrage.
Multiple commenters urged the original poster to report the incident to Vancouver Coastal Health, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), and other authorities.
Some pointed out that female crabs appeared to be in the box, which could violate DFO fishing regulations.
Comment
byu/Available_Ad3598 from discussion
inrichmondbc
Others noted the crabs didn’t even resemble legal Dungeness and may have been red rock or undersized.
There were also additional allegations from other users, including:
- Sightings of rats inside the shop.
- Smelly, sun-bleached displays with fish left outside for long periods.
- Accusations of parasites and decomposing shrimp in previous purchases.
- Reports of the store having a 3-star rating on Google, with reviews allegedly being deleted.
The original poster later confirmed they had filed a complaint with Fraser Health (which commenters corrected them to go to Vancouver Coastal Health as Richmond is under VCH jurisdiction) and had the receipt and more photos as evidence.
They also expressed shock that their Google review had mysteriously disappeared.
This thread has ignited broader concerns over food safety, customer rights, and regulatory oversight in Steveston’s seafood industry.
If you’ve had a similar experience with seafood retailers, Vancouver Coastal Health encourages you to file a food safety report.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.