Alaska Snow Crab | NOAA Fisheries

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Alaska Snow Crab

Chionoecetes opilio

Also Known As Opilio, Opies

Quick Facts

Region Alaska Alaska snow crab. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Alaska snow crab. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

About the Species

Alaska snow crab. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Alaska snow crab. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

U.S. wild-caught Alaska snow crab is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

Population

The stock is not overfished.

Fishing Rate

Not subject to overfishing.

Habitat Impact

Habitat impacts from crab pots are minor because fishing occurs in areas of soft sediment such as silt and mud that are unlikely to be damaged by fishing gear.

Bycatch

Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch.

Population Status

• According to the 2023 stock assessment, Alaska snow crab is not overfished but still rebuilding, and not subject to overfishing based on 2023 catch data. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.

Appearance

• Alaska snow crabs have a hard rounded shell, four pairs of walking legs, and one pair of claws.
• On top they are brownish in color and underneath they are lighter. Their eyes are green or greenish blue.
• Males and females can be distinguished by the shape of their abdominal flaps. On males this flap is triangular, and on females it is broadly rounded.

Biology

• Male Alaska snow crab can reach 6 inches in shell width but females seldom grow larger than 3 inches.
• Scientists estimate that snow crabs may live for up to 20 years.
• Females can carry up to nearly 100,000 eggs, depending on their size. They hatch their larvae in the spring when there is plenty of food in the water column.
• When the eggs hatch, the larvae look like tiny shrimp.
• The larvae feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton before metamorphosing into tiny crabs and settling on the ocean bottom.
• Alaska snow crabs can only grow by molting (shedding their old shell and growing another).
• After molting snow crabs are soft and vulnerable to predators until their new shell hardens.
• When they have reached sexual maturity, both females and males undergo a “terminal molt,” after which they never molt again.
• Snow crabs will eat almost anything they can catch and break open with their claws, including fish, shrimp, crabs, worms, clams, brittle stars, snails, algae, and sponges. They will also scavenge on anything dead they find.
• Seals, sea otters, octopi, other crabs, and a wide variety of fish prey on Alaska snow crabs.

Where They Live

Range

• Alaska snow crabs are found off the coast of Alaska in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas.

Habitat

• Alaska snow crabs prefer soft sandy or muddy ocean bottoms, typically in water less than 650 feet deep, where they can burrow if threatened by predators and where they can feed on the animals living in the sediment.

Fishery Management

• NOAA Fisheries, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game manage the Alaska snow crab fishery.
• Managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs, which defers management of crab fisheries to the State of Alaska with federal oversight. State regulations must comply with the fishery management plan, the national standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable federal laws:
  • The Alaska snow crab fishery was closed for fishing years 2022 and 2023. The fishing year runs from July 1 - June 30.
  • The Alaska snow crab fishery is currently managed according to the “three S’s” – size, sex, and season. Only male crabs of a certain size may be harvested, and fishing is not allowed during mating and molting periods. These measures help ensure that crabs are able to reproduce and replace the ones that are harvested.
  • Every year, managers set the harvest limit for the next fishing season using the most recent estimates of crab abundance.
  • Managers allocate shares of the harvest among harvesters, processors, and coastal communities through the crab rationalization program, which was implemented in 2005 to address economic, safety, and environmental issues in the fishery. This program includes a community development quota, which protects community interests by allowing community groups 10 percent of the harvest. They’re given the opportunity to purchase shares in the fishery before the shares are offered for sale outside the community.
  • Vessels carry vessel monitoring systems (satellite communications systems used to monitor fishing activities) and must report their landings electronically.
  • Fishermen must install escape panels and rings on their pots to prevent ghost fishing (when lost pots continue to capture and kill species) and to reduce bycatch.
  • Managers monitor catch in real time and are able to close the fishery when the harvest limit is reached.
  • A rebuilding plan to rebuild the stock to the target population level is in place with a target date of 2029.
• Observers are required on 20 percent of the vessels in the fishery. They collect data on catch and bycatch and document any violations of fishing regulations.

Harvest

• In 2023, there were no commercial landings of Alaska snow crab because the commercial fishery was closed.
• Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
  • The fishing fleet is made up of a variety of vessels, from small inshore vessels to large-scale “super crabbers” that fish in the Bering Sea.
  • Commercial fishermen use crab pots to harvest snow crab.
  • They bait the pots with chopped herring, mackerel, or squid and lower the pots over silt and mud ocean bottoms. After a couple days, fishermen haul the pots back on board, empty them, and sort the catch – then start all over again.
  • Crab pots can unintentionally catch female crabs (which may not be harvested), males under the commercial size, and non-targeted crab species as well as a small number of other species including octopus, Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, other flatfish, sponges, coral, and sea stars.
  • Management requires fishermen to install escape panels and rings on their pots to prevent ghost fishing (when lost pots continue to capture and kill species) and to reduce bycatch.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Malacostraca
Order	Decapoda
Family	Oregoniidae
Genus	Chionoecetes
Species	opilio

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/17/2025

Featured News

Snow crabs sampled during the 2024 eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey. Credit: NOAA Fisheries / Erin Fedewa Feature Story

Snow Crab Collapse Linked to Energetic Limitations During a Marine Heatwave

Alaska A new ocean model developed by NOAA researchers could help us to more effectively manage critically important species along the West Coast and in Alaska, like snow crab. Credit: iStock Feature Story

NOAA Launches New Ocean Modeling System for West Coast and Alaska

Alaska West Coast National Erin Fedawa collects snow crab hemolymph samples during the 2023 Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey to monitor for bitter crab disease. Credit: NOAA Fisheries Feature Story

Genetics Enable Earlier Detection of Lethal Disease for Commercially Important Tanner and Snow Crabs

Alaska The research vessel Norseman II pushes carefully through the ice, maneuvering for open water. Credit: Gavin M Brady/NOAA Fisheries. Feature Story

Some Fish and Crab May Shift Further North in Alaskan Waters Than Previously Predicted

Alaska View More News

Related Species

Red King Crab

Seafood Facts

Is Alaska Snow Crab Sustainable?

U.S. wild-caught Alaska snow crab is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

Availability

Generally harvested from January to April in the Eastern Bering Sea, but available year-round.

Source

U.S. wild-caught in Alaska.

Taste

Sweet.

Texture

Delicate and flaky.

Color

The snow-white meat is what gives the snow crab its name and its reputation as a delicacy.

Health Benefits

Alaska snow crab is a low-fat source of protein.

Nutrition Facts

Servings: 1; Serving Weight: 100 g (raw); Calories: 90; Protein: 18.5 g; Total Fat: 1.18 g; Total Saturated Fatty Acids: 0.143 g ; Carbohydrate: 0 g; Total Sugars: 0 g; Total Dietary Fiber: 0 g; Cholesterol: 55 mg; Selenium: 34.6 mcg; Sodium: 539 mg

More Information

• Sustainable Seafood
• Profiles in Sustainability: A New Look for FishWatch
• Sign Up for "Taste of the Tides" Newsletter

Crab Recipes

Looking for some ways to add crab into your rotation? If you need some cooking inspiration, browse these recipes for crab-stuffed acorn squash, crab and shrimp risotto, and more!

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Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/17/2025

Seafood News

Feature Story

Seafood Expo North America

New England/Mid-Atlantic National Danielle Blacklock, Director of NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, eating an oyster on the half shell. Credit: NOAA Fisheries. Feature Story

Falling in Love with Farmed Seafood

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Show Seafood Some Love and Get Heart Healthy!

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Four Tips for Finding the Best Pacific Islands Seafood

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Science Overview

Image

NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the distribution and abundance of Alaska snow crab. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions for this species.

For detailed information about stock status, management, assessments, and resource trends, you can search for Alaska snow crab, and any other species of interest, using NOAA's StockSMART web tool.

Alaska Snow Crab in the Eastern Bering Sea

Our research in Alaska on the growth, reproduction, diet, distribution, and juvenile habitat of Alaska snow crab provides information crucial for understanding and managing this species.

Learn more about Alaska crab research

Research & Data

Frequent Questions—Snow Crab and Salmon Declines in Alaska

NOAA Fisheries answers questions about what is behind the declines in snow crab and salmon and how we are addressing them. Alaska

2021 Alaska Fisheries Economic Status of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab

This Fisheries Management Plan includes all species and fisheries for Alaska crab (red, blue, and brown king crab, Tanner crab, and snow crab). In-season management of these fisheries is provided by Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak. April 18, 2022 - Data , Alaska

2020 Alaska Crab Stock Assessment And Fishery Evaluation Report

This Fisheries Management Plan includes all species and fisheries for Alaska crab (red, blue, and brown king crab, Tanner crab, and snow crab). In-season management of these fisheries is provided by Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak. March 08, 2022 - Assessments , Alaska

2019 Alaska Fisheries Economic Status of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab

This executive summary highlights three sets of primary indicators describing aggregate changes in gross volume and value of production, labor earnings and employment in the crab processing and harvesting sectors, and crab harvest quota leasing activity. January 30, 2020 - Assessments , Alaska View More

More Information

• Alaska Shellfish Assessment Program
• Alaska Shellfish Ocean Acidification and Climate Research
• Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Fisheries
• Alaska Shellfish Culture Research
• Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
• Eastern Bering Sea Crab Distribution Data Map

Recent Science Blogs

Survey

Dutch Harbor Snow and Tanner Crab Growth Study - Post 7

Survey Survey

Dutch Harbor Snow and Tanner Crab Growth Study - Post 6

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Dutch Harbor Snow and Tanner Crab Growth Study - Post 5

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Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/17/2025

Documents

Document

Draft 2024 Eastern Bering Sea Crab Technical Memorandum

This is a draft Technical Memo that includes preliminary results from the 2024 eastern Bering Sea…

Alaska Document

Draft 2023 Eastern Bering Sea Crab Technical Memorandum

This is a draft Technical Memo that includes preliminary results from the 2023 eastern Bering Sea…

Alaska Document

Draft 2022 Eastern Bering Sea Crab Technical Memorandum

This is a draft Technical Memo that includes preliminary results from the 2022 eastern Bering Sea…

Alaska Document

Profiles of Fishing Communities of Alaska

In-depth profiles of the 196 Alaska communities most involved in Alaskan and North Pacific…

Alaska More Documents

Data & Maps

Data

2021 Alaska Fisheries Economic Status of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab

This Fisheries Management Plan includes all species and fisheries for Alaska crab (red, blue, and…

Alaska Data

2020 Alaska Crab Stock Assessment And Fishery Evaluation Report

This Fisheries Management Plan includes all species and fisheries for Alaska crab (red, blue, and…

Alaska Data

2019 Alaska Fisheries Economic Status of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab

This executive summary highlights three sets of primary indicators describing aggregate changes in…

Alaska Data

2019 Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report

This Fisheries Management Plan includes all species and fisheries for Alaska crab (red, blue, and…

Alaska More Data More Maps

Research

Frequent Questions—Snow Crab and Salmon Declines in Alaska

NOAA Fisheries answers questions about what is behind the declines in snow crab and salmon and how we are addressing them.

Alaska

Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports

Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports from 1998–2021.

Alaska

Alaska Shellfish Additional Research

Shellfish Assessment Research.

Alaska

Alaska Shellfish Reproduction Research

Shellfish Assessment Research.

Alaska More Research

Outreach & Education

Outreach Materials

Shellfish Assessment Program

This is a program in the Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division.

Alaska More Outreach Materials More Educational Materials

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/17/2025