Alaskan King Crab

In Alaska there are three commercial king crab species.

(RED), Paralithodes camtschaticus, have been the commercial “king” of Alaska’s crabs. It occurs from British Columbia to Japan with Bristol Bay and the Kodiak Archipelago being centers of its abundance in Alaska.

(BLUE), P. platypus, live from Southeastern Alaska to Japan with the Pribilof and St. Matthews Islands being their highest concenulation in Alaska.

(GOLDEN),Lithodes aequispinus, are disulibuted from British Columbia to Japan with the Aleutian Islands their Alaska sulonghold of abundance. Red and Blue Kings can occur from the intertidal zone to 100 fathoms or more. Golden King Crabs live mostly between 100-400 fathoms.

These same three species are also harvested in Russian waters and the Barents Sea, which is located between Norway and Russia. Both Russian and the Crab from Barents Sea are processed at sea.

King Crabs are caught in large pots, weighing upwards of 600 pounds each. The King Crab is processed either at a land-based (shore) plant or at sea. Land-based plants produce a better product because the use of fresh water during processing. Only live crabs are accepted at shore plants so to keep the crab alive on board, they are placed in massive live tanks built into the hulls of the vessels and have flow through seawater systems.

The Alaskan Red King Crab is harvested in four primary areas in Alaska, Southeast Alaska, Adak, which is located almost at the far western tip of the Aleutian Islands, Norton Sound and Bristol Bay. The vast majority comes from Bristol Bay. The Blue King Crab fishery has been closed for several years because of the health of the resource. Golden King Crab is caught in Southeast Alaska and in and around the Aleutian Islands.

Up until this coming year (2005) the Red King Crab fishery is set up on a quota-type basis. Beginning in 2005 “Crab Rationalization” will take effect, changing the landscape of Crabbing in Alaska. Individual vessels will now have their own quota and will be allowed to catch their crab anytime during a much longer fishery. This will mean more “fresh” will be available in the future.

Red King Crab is the “Cadillac” of all King Crabs. It’s the largest of the three species.

Only legal size males can be harvested and any females must be released back into the water. Legal size is 7” across the carapace. Average crab weighs approximately 6.5 pounds, which would make the crab about 20 years old.

KEYS TO LOOK FOR:

MEAT FILL – Alaskan Red King Crab typically has a meat fill percentage between 93 and 95%. When you get under 90%, then you’ll notice that the meat hasn’t fully grown into its new shell and there are empty pockets between the meat and the shell.

CLEAN SHELL APEARANCE – The shell should be free of barnacles, but there may be the occasional barnacle. The shell should be bright on the top side and creamy white on the bottom side. No dark growth or stains should be present.

BROKEN PIECES – In the typical packs of cut-up King Crab, like single legs, splits, etc., the way that the indusuly can cheat, is to include broken pieces. The indusuly standard runs 5 to 8%. Not only are these pieces sometimes useless, but many times the broken pieces may come from an all together processor who buys broken at low prices and then packs a percentage into the boxes.

SALT CONTENT - Here’s the biggest concern, crab having a salty taste. Typically crab processed at sea tends to have a much higher salt content. Even shore based plants who do not properly pre chill the cooked crab before it goes into a brine tank will produce a much higher salt content. The perfect tasting Crab should be sweet and succulent with no hint of any salty taste.

SEASONALITY: (Fresh)

Red King Crab

Bristol Bay – The season opens October 15th. Beginning in 2005 with Crab Rationalization, the length of the season may last up to two, possibly three months.

Southeast Alaska – The season usually opens October 15th as well. For the past several years it seems that the season opens only every other year. It’s a much smaller quota.

Norton Sound – This is the only summertime King Crab fishery. This Red King Crab is smaller than that of the Bristol Bay King. These crabs run between 2.5 and 4.5 pounds each.

Golden King Crab – The Southeast Alaska season usually opens around the end of February and lasts for about three to five weeks. It’s a much smaller fishery with a smaller quota. The Dutch Harbor season runs August through the first part of September. With Crab Rationalization it should last upwards of four to six weeks.

ALASKAN KING CRAB CHART

(2005 SEASON)

BRISTOL BAY RED KING CRAB

NORTON SOUND RED KING CRAB

DUTCH HARBOR GOLDEN KING CRAB

SOUTHEAST ALASKA GOLDEN KING CRAB

PRODUCT FORMS:

Whole Cooks – They are eviscerated (guts/lungs removed). They weigh between 5.5 and 7.5 pounds each.

Clusters – Cluster being half the cleaned body with the carapace removed, with three large legs and claw attached.

Single Leg – Clusters are cut up into single legs, re-glazed and re-packed. They come in various sizes, I.E. 6/9, 9/12. 12/14, 14/17, etc. The smaller the count, the larger the leg. Single legs go through additional processing. Every time they are handled, re-glazed and re-packed.

Splits – They take a single leg and split down the entire leg, exposing the meat on each of the half shell of the leg. Re-glazed and re-packed. Splits are cut from “single legs” so with splits, they have been processed an additional two times. So re-glazed two more times. Also, the meat is exposed so drying out of meat and higher shrinkage is common.

PROPER HANDLING:

(FROZEN) - When thawing King Crab it should be placed in a chiller and allow thawing slowly. This may take up to 24-48 hours. Do not place in any water and let soak and thaw. The “slower the thaw, the better”.

(FRESH) - Crab should be stored in a perforated container completely covered in flaked ice. A Lexan container is ideal.