Market Name: Snow crab, Alaska snow crab, spider crab, bairdi, opilio, tanner crab, queen crab
Scientific Name: Chionoecetes opilio, C. bairdi
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| Snow or tanner crab are names given to related species of spider crab, including opilio and bairdi. Sloppy terminology has blurred scientific distinctions. Opilios are technically snow crabs, and bairdi are technically tanners. Alaska snow crab fisheries developed in the 1970s as an affordable alternative to king crab. Snow crabs are taken in traps, from sandy bottoms in depths of 30 to 1,500 ft. Alaska's opilio fishery occurs in the Bering Sea and is much larger than its bairdi fishery. Bairdi are taken from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and opilio are also harvested off eastern Canada. Bairdi are the largest snow crabs, averaging 5 lb apiece. Opilio average just over I lb. |
Markets: US - Japan - Europe