Snow Crab

The Snow Crab, also known as the Opilio Crab (Chionoecetes Opilio) is one of the most popular crab species. The snow crab is a member of the Tanner crab (spider crab) family. The body is composed mainly of a chitinous shell or carapace with a small abdominal flap. Like all crabs, they have five pairs of legs with the first pair equipped with pincers.

Snows may live to an estimated maximum age of 14 years and can grow to about 5 lbs and 2 feet in length. Male snow crab reach a maximum size of 6 inches carapace width while females stop growing after they molt one final time after reaching maturity and rarely exceed 3.15 inches carapace width. Males also stop growing after they grow a large claw characteristic of maturity. Males of commercial size usually range from 7 to 11 years of age and vary in weight from 1 to 2 pounds. Known for their rich, sweet flavor, Snow crabs are distributed on the continental shelf of the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and in the western Atlantic Ocean as far south as Maine.

Snow crabs eat different things at each stage of their lives. Larval crabs eat plankton; juveniles feed on diatoms, protozoa, hydroids, crab, and other organisms that live on the ocean floor. Adult snow crab prey on a variety of benthic organisms including bivalves, brittle stars, crustaceans (including other snow crabs), polychaetes and other worms, gastropods (a class of mollusks), and fish.

Snow crabs are fished in areas of soft sediment like silt and mud at depths of 240 to 600 feet. Commercial fishing boats are 40 to 250 feet in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able to withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea. Each fishing boat sets their own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, often staying out for days or weeks at a time. Fishermen use a steel box-shaped trap called a pot which consists of a steel frame covered with a wire mesh. Each pot weighs 600–800 pounds and a ship may carry 150 to 300 pots. Fish, usually herring or codfish, are placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the king crabs reside. The pots are dropped in a line for easier retrieval. The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy which is later used for retrieval. After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor, typically one to three days, the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic crane. The pot is then brought onboard the boat and the crew sorts the crab. Only male crabs may be kept; any not meeting the sex requirement and the size requirements of the associated fishery are sorted out and returned to the sea. The crabs are stored live in a holding tank until the boat reaches a port where they are sold and processed.

As with many species snow crab production is cyclical. Production will increase for several years then decrease only to increase again after reaching a low. For the most part, production has remained stable for Alaskan Snow crab production since 1994 following a peak in 1991 and a subsequent decline until 1994. Catches in Alaskan Snow crab are expected to increase as many new young crabs are growing to harvestable age.

 

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