King crab, because of its domineering appearance and delicious meat in China has won the love of many gourmets, but in the Chinese market, king crab can be more than one, today Yi Ge takes you to take stock of which common king crabs in the market.
When it comes to king crab, everyone will always feel it
In fact, the common king crab in the Chinese market is divided into north and south
King crabs are produced in many parts of the world, mainly Russia, Alaska, Norway, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Chile, Argentina and so on.
Most of the common king crabs in the Chinese market come from Russia and Chile, and this north and south basically occupy the vast majority of the Chinese market, of which fresh king crabs usually come from Russia, and cooked frozen king crabs usually come from Chile.
"Northern" king crab
Northern king crab, the main producers are Russia, the United States and Norway, Japan also produces. The main commercial species are red king crab, blue king crab and golden king crab, of which red king crab is the main commercial fishing species.
Red King Crab
The main fishing area for King Crab in Russia
The red king crab is the largest of its family, named for its appearance color, in fact, the red king crab shell is grape purple red, the crab shell can reach a maximum width of 28 cm, weighs about 12 kg, generally weighs 2.9 kg in the Bering Sea, and spends most of his life in the cold deep sea.
It is native to the Kamchatka Peninsula and nearby Alaskan waters. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced it to the Murmansk Fjord, the Barents Sea, and the number of king crabs in Norwegian waters has also increased year by year.
Blue King Crab
Blue king crabs inhabit the North Pacific Ocean and live mainly on The islands of Saint-Matthew, Pribiro Islands and Diomi in Alaska, and are more concentrated in the coastal areas of Japan and Russia.
It is the same genus as the red king crab, and the two look very similar in size.
The commercial fishing of the blue king crab is more tortuous, the eastern commercial fishing began in the mid-1860s, the U.S. catch peaked at 4960 tons in 1980, the cold sea water slowed down the growth rate of the king crab, and eight years later its population fell sharply, and the commercial fishing closed, and opened again in 1999.
Blue King Crab Commercial Fishing Area
The Saint-Matthew area peaked in 1983, closed in 1999, and has not been officially opened since then to ensure that its population can be restored.
Brown King Crab / Golden King Crab
God opens a window for you and will close a door for you. This phrase is used to describe the golden king crab. The golden king crab has a noble and magical appearance, but for diners, its small size, low meat fullness, and it is not well-known in the crab meat world.
The golden king crab lives mainly in the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the northern part of Honshu Island from the central Part of the Bering Sea to the coast of Sakhalin Island, as well as in the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering, Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands and the Kuril Islands at water depths of about 185-730 m.
From left to right, they are brown crab legs, blue crab legs, and red crab legs
King crab from the United States
In the United States, king crabs are only produced in Alaska, so they are also known as Alaskan king crabs. Therefore, the American king crab is similar to the Russian king crab fishing area, and the species is the same. The Alaskan king crab season is from October to January, with peak catches in November and December. King crabs are larger, generally 6-10 pounds, the largest individual can reach 24 pounds, and males of the same age are larger than females.
Alaska's red king crab fishing area
Alaskan king crab is well known in the market, but due to transportation and voyage problems, the vast majority of fresh king crabs in the Chinese market come from Russia.
The Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska are areas where Alaskan crabs are caught, mainly in the waters of the Bering Sea. The cold waters of Alaska are best suited for king crabs.
These three commercially valuable king crabs from Alaska. Red king crabs are the largest and most numerous, accounting for more than 70 percent of Alaska's total king crab production. Blue king crabs are distinguished from red king crabs because of their pronounced black color on the ends of their legs, which are almost identical in size and are usually sold at the same price.
King crab from Norway
Norwegian king crab, the main species is the red king crab, commercial fishing began in 1994. Over the past decade or so, its king crab fishing has changed from intermittent fishing to its current year-round fishing, and many fishermen have modified their own fishing boats to process king crabs.
King crab hunting area in Norway
Recently, due to demand from Asia and the United States, the Norwegian Monarch price has reached record levels, and its price has stabilized at 75 CZK/kg three years ago, and now its price has soared to around 190 CZK/kg.
"Southern" king crab
Southern king crab is mainly harvested from Chile, Peru and Argentina, of which Chile has the largest production, mainly distributed in the South American Pacific Ocean.
In China, the "southern" king crab from Chile all appears on the market in the form of frozen products, and the Chilean king crab is full of thorns, although the appearance is strong and domineering, but its "heart" is also delicious.
Chilean frozen king crab
Chilean king crabs grow in the deep Antarctic ocean in pure, pollution-free areas with temperatures of 2-5 °C. The fishing area is in the waters near Punta Arenas, Punta Williams, Tierra del Fuego in southern Chile.
Due to its special growing environment, the meat of Chilean king crab is extremely white and delicious, but it takes 8-12 years to grow into an adult crab that can be tasted, or even a lifespan of up to 30 years.
King crabs are caught using a strong barbed wire fence, making a large square trap cage, in which fresh fish, clams, etc. are placed as bait, and sink to the bottom of the sea.
Compared with the American Alaskan king crab, the Chilean king crab is smaller than the American king crab, and the chilean king crab has longer and sharper spines compared to the Russian king crab. Due to the long distance between Chile and China, live and fresh products are not conducive to transportation, and Chilean king crabs in the domestic market are usually sold in a cooked and frozen state.
Fishing for king crabs is a very difficult task. Bad weather and sea conditions, strong winds and strong waves have greatly increased the difficulty of catching king crabs, and king crabs, like fishermen all over the world, have brought us this delicious taste through their hard work!