Snow Crab

The Snow Crab is smaller than the King Crab and its meat has a fine texture and a delicate flavour. Both shoulder- and leg meat is used for consumption and the leg meat is snow-white on the inside and bright orange on the outside.

Habitat

The snow crab is found in the cold waters of the North Pacific and off the coast of Canada in the North Atlantic. The most segnificant fishing grounds are in the Barents Sea

Biology

Snow crab covers several different species of Chionoectes, as opilio, bairdi, tanner crab and spider crab. At Royal Greenland, we use the opilio crab. They are crabs with eight legs and two claws, but the hind legs are often small or missing. The Opilio can weigh up to 2,5 kg. The crabs feed on a wide assortment of marine life including worms, clams, mussels, snails, crabs, other crustaceans, and fish parts. Migration patterns are not well understood; however, it is known that the sexes are separated during much of the year and move into the same areas during the reproductive season.

Catching Methods

Single pots baited with herring or cod, which are left to soak for one to three days, before they are emptied. Pot-fishing has two strong benefits: it’s highly selective (not killing other species) and the product is landed live for maximum quality.