Red King Crab

The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, also called the Kamchatka or Alaskan king crab, is a species of king crab native to cold waters of the North Pacific, later introduced to the Barents Sea, and is the largest king crab species. Wild specimens have historically reached a carapace width of 28 centimeters and a leg span of 1.8 meters, weighing up to 12.7 kilograms, though crabs caught commercially today typically measure no more than about 17 centimeters across the carapace. It ranges from the Bering Sea south to the Gulf of Alaska and the waters off Kamchatka, preferring temperatures of roughly 3 to 5.5 degrees Celsius and depths beyond 200 meters on sandy or muddy bottoms, moving into shallower water to breed. It is the most sought-after and most expensive per unit weight of the commercially sold king crabs, chiefly fished in the Bering Sea and Alaska's Norton Sound, though populations in native waters have declined significantly from a mix of fishing pressure, warming waters and predation.