All about Kamchatka crab. Crabs

Kamchatka crab, other names - king crab, red king crab, giant king crab - Paralithodes camtschatica.

Inhabits northern regions Far Eastern seas. Kamchatka, Shantar Islands, Bristol Bay, Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea, shores of Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, northern part Sea of Japan(Peter the Great Bay and Hokkaido coast).

Kamchatka crab is one of the largest species of crustaceans. It looks like a crab, which is why it got its name, but in reality it is closer to hermit crabs. The body consists of a cephalothorax, which is covered with a common shell, and a belly (abdomen). The abdomen is folded under the cephalothorax, and looks like a tail, which the crab does not have. The shell protects the crab from enemies and serves as a support for the muscles. Internal skeleton absent. At the leading edge of the crab's shell is a beak that protects the crab's eyes. Nervous system The (chain) of the crab runs along the underside of the body. The female differs from the male in having a more strongly developed abdomen. The male's abdomen is almost triangular. The lateral edges of the shell cover the gills, which are washed by water. The crab's stomach is in the head, and the heart is in the back of the body. Six large spines stick out on the shell above the heart, and eleven above the stomach. Eight legs are involved in locomotion, including legs with claws. The fifth pair of legs is reduced; the crab hides it under its shell and uses it from time to time to clean its gills. With its right claw, the Kamchatka crab crushes mollusk shells and sea urchins, with the left he cuts worms and other soft animals.

The Kamchatka crab is called red - the top of the shell and legs of the Kamchatka crab are dark red (red-brown), with a purple tint. Yellowish-white underneath.

Large males have a cephalothorax width of up to 25 cm. Leg span is up to 150 cm. Weight: male - up to 7.5 kg, female - 4.3 kg.

Life expectancy: 15-20 years.

The Kamchatka crab lives at depths from 2 to 270 m, preferring leveled areas of the shelf with sand or mud.

The enemies of the crab are humans, octopuses, gobies, cod, hairy quadrangular crab, sea otter, and fish (sculpin).

The crab's diet includes bottom invertebrates (molluscs, starfish, urchins, sea urchins, especially the flat sea urchin Echinarachnius, worms), fish, crustaceans, zoo- and phytoplankton. Fingerlings feed on hydroids.

The Kamchatka crab migrates regularly (speed up to 1.8 km/h). Every year it repeats the same route. In winter (off the western coast of Kamchatka) it goes to a depth of 110-200 m. In spring, in schools (large males separately from females and juveniles) they rise from the depths to warmed shallow water.

Adult crabs molt once a year. Molting lasts about three days (all this time the crab hides in holes at the bottom or crevices between rocks). During molting, the crab not only changes its shell, it also breaks away from the old walls of the stomach, esophagus, and intestines. Renews all tendons. Molting females are guarded by males. After molting, females and young males move to shallow water, while adult males move deeper into rich food fields.

During molting, remaining in a new soft shell, the female releases dark purple eggs under her belly. Later, in the summer, the eggs become brown, and the following spring you can already see the eyes of the embryos in each egg. One female lays up to 20-445 thousand eggs. The following spring, on the way to shallow water, the larvae emerge from the eggs, and the females continue on their way. Each year, the female lays eggs once, while the male can mate with several females (up to 11) during the entire breeding season.

Breeding season: in Primorye: March-April. Females become sexually mature at 8 years, males at 10 years.

The courtship ritual is interesting: the female stands in front of the male and holds his claws with her claws. Crabs can remain in this position for up to 3-7 days. The female helps the male molt, after which mating occurs.

Pregnancy/incubation lasts 11 and a half months. The crab larva is the size of a fly, it has a long abdomen, an oblong smooth shell with three spines along the edges. There are no legs. Swims with the help of its jaws, its long abdomen plays the role of a rudder. The first two months the larva lives in the water column, then it molts and settles to the bottom, where it lives in thickets of ahnfeltia algae. Mortality from birth to settling to the bottom reaches 96.5%. After birth, crab juveniles go through several stages of development. After three years, the crab larva leaves the shelter (during this time it molts several times) and moves to areas with sandy soil. At the age of 5-7 years it begins to migrate, the width of the shell reaches 43-69 mm. More than a hundred kilometers pass along the bottom in a year.

Kamchatka crab is the most valuable commercial species- a source of gourmet and dietary meat.

The number of Kamchatka crab has been greatly reduced, so its fishing is limited.

For those who saw Kamchatka crabs for the first time in their lives, these animals make a great impression.

In terms of its size, the Kamchatka crab is an outstanding representative not only of decapods, but also of all crustaceans. Characteristics The structures of crustaceans, reproduced in the Kamchatka crab on a large scale, are strikingly striking even with the most superficial glance at this animal.

The width of the shell of the average male Kamchatka crab is about 16 centimeters, the span of its legs is almost 1 meter, and its weight exceeds 2 kilograms. The largest specimens reach 25 centimeters in carapace width, one and a half meters in leg span and 7 kilograms in weight.

The body of the Kamchatka crab consists of a cephalothorax, covered with a common shell, and a belly, folded under the cephalothorax. Therefore, if you look at a crab from above, only its shell and legs are visible. A powerful shell with large sharp spikes reliably protects the animal and, in addition, serves as a support for the muscles. The shell, like that of the crayfish, fuses with the body only on the back, and on the sides it lags behind the walls of the body and hangs down like the sides of a jacket, covering the gills. The gills in the resulting cavities are protected from damage and at the same time are easily washed with water. In front of the cephalothorax are attached two pairs of antennae, eyes on stalks, jaws and legs. Leading edge The shell is armed with a sharp outgrowth that protects the eyes.

The abdomen of the crab, always tucked under the cephalothorax, in females bears special appendages for bearing eggs. The abdomen contains the intestines and internal genital organs. The first pair of crab legs are armed with powerful claws, the next three pairs are used for movement, and last pair reduced legs are always located under the shell and are used to clean the gills. The muscles of the walking legs are very well developed.

What do Kamchatka crabs eat?

Kamchatka crabs are predators. They eat marine bottom polychaetes, mollusks, amphipods, echinoderms, small sea acorns and other bottom animals. The crabs tear their prey with their claws and, using their legs and jaws, crush, grind and send it into their mouths. The right - large - claw is used to crush shells of mollusks and skeletons of sea urchins. With its left claw, the crab can tear only soft prey. Very interesting experiments were carried out to find out what sense guides crabs in search of prey. Food was lowered into a large aquarium where Kamchatka crabs were kept. The animal immediately reacted to the smell characteristic movements antennas and began searching for prey. The crab cannot determine the direction to the prey by smell, so it begins to move slowly, feeling the bottom with the ends of its claws. The crab lowers its claws vertically downwards and, touching the ground with the ends of its claws, quickly opens and closes them, as if snapping scissors, to see if anything gets caught. These probing movements are very energetic and "nervous".

The crab searches blindly, describing the most incredible loops along the bottom of the pool. As it approaches the feeder, when the smell of food intensifies, the crab becomes very excited and probes the bottom with its claws even more often. However, even in close proximity to the food (for example, at a distance of 1 centimeter from the end of the claws to the food), the crab repeatedly misses and moves away from it again. This suggests that the crab's sense of smell and vision are poor helpers, and it finds its prey only through touch.

Finally, the crab probes for food with the tip of its claw and quickly grabs it with one claw or both at once. In search of prey, the animals lost an unusually large amount of time, traveling an unnecessary long distance.

All my long life Kamchatka crabs wander, repeating the same route every year. The Kamchatka crab is an exclusively running animal and is completely unsuited to either swimming or burrowing into the ground. The crab cannot burrow, because then its open gills can become clogged with silt. Powerfully developed leg muscles allow you to cover long distances. The crab runs both forward and sideways, alternately throwing out and bending its walking legs. The claws of the feet act like pegs stuck into the ground. The body is supported by weight when walking. The speed of movement of Kamchatka crabs in a straight line reaches 2 kilometers per hour. However, the crab usually moves in zigzags, and the distance it travels per day does not exceed 10-13 kilometers. Individual crabs wander in different directions, and the speed of movement of the entire school is only 2-4 kilometers per day. Crab schools all year round walk within their migratory area. The size of such areas for one school is almost 200 kilometers. Some crabs stray from their schools and move to schools in neighboring areas. The reason for such transitions is strong competition for food. Animals often move to areas where fishing is more active. There, the number of crabs drops significantly due to fishing, and competition for food decreases.

Where do Kamchatka crabs winter?

The wintering grounds of crabs are located quite far from the coast at depths of 110 to 200 meters. In fact, the crab does not hibernate, but continues to lead the same active lifestyle in winter as in summer. The departure to depth is explained more low temperatures water in shallow waters and ice formation. In the spring, when the bays of the sea are cleared of ice, the crabs move to shallower areas. During this period, males and females of the king crab stay in separate herds and move to the shore in parallel paths. Female crabs carry eggs on their abdominal legs, which have been developing since last year, and halfway through the adult crabs' journey to the shore, a mass hatching of larvae occurs. The fully developed crab embryos in the eggs, whose translucent eyes gave them the name “caviar with eyes,” tear the shells of the eggs into two halves and float up into the water column.

Reproduction of Kamchatka crabs

About a month after the start of migration, schools of males and females meet in shallow waters and mix. The mating period begins. The females at this time look very unpresentable: a dirty shell overgrown with barnacle shells, empty egg shells on the abdominal legs. Nevertheless, the males choose their mates and clamp the claws of the females with their claws. Couples can remain in this “handshake” position for 3 to 7 days. Then the males help the females moult by pulling off the contaminated old shell from them, and attach spermatophores to the bases of the third pair of walking legs of the female. After this, the partners separate. After some time, the female lays eggs on her abdominal legs, which are fertilized from the spermatophore and which the female carries on herself until next spring.

After mating, the schools of females and males again migrate separately, now the crabs go in search of food and feed all summer. Before the summer migration, the males molt, but in complete solitude, hiding among the underwater rocks. During the feeding period, crab schools gradually move from one field to another with average speed about 4 kilometers per day, destroying a significant number of bottom animals.

Where do Kamchatka crabs live?

The largest quantity of Kamchatka crab, as its name suggests, is found off the coast of Kamchatka, as well as in Primorye. Its distribution area goes from Posiet Bay through the northern part of the Sea of Japan, through the Sea of Okhotsk and most of the Bering Sea along the Aleutian Islands to the Pacific coast of Canada.

Kamchatka crabs are one of those inhabitants of our planet that have long become an object of close attention, both from the planet’s leading specialists and from ordinary fauna lovers. And this is perhaps not surprising. The animal is actually unusual and quite rare today.

Unfortunately, there are still those representatives of the human race for whom Kamchatka crabs are just one of the lines on the menu of an expensive restaurant.

We are not at all trying to preach or promote vegetarianism. To eat or not to eat animals is, undoubtedly, everyone’s business. However, after reading the proposed sections, the reader, if desired, will be able to reconsider his views on the surrounding reality, for example, by learning what characteristic features the live Kamchatka crab has, where it lives, what it eats and how it reproduces.

Section 1. Where do these animals live?

Basically, the name speaks for itself. Even the most incurious reader will immediately realize that this type of crab is found en masse in Russia, namely off the coast of Kamchatka.

Although not everyone knows that it is also found in Primorye. Among other things, it can be found in the territory from Posiet Bay to the Pacific coast of Canada, if you move through the northern part of the Japanese Sea to the Okhotsk and Bering Seas along the Aleutian Islands.

Section 2. What does it look like?

The Kamchatka crab (in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of central Russia it can only be seen in the zoo) is a fairly large species of crustacean.

By the way, it is not uncommon for him to be mistakenly classified as an ordinary representative of this species. This is nothing more than an unfortunate misconception. Why? The thing is that it has one significant difference: instead of five, this creature has four pairs of legs, so it would be more correct to classify it as a craboid.

The shell and phalanges of the Kamchatka crab have brown, it has purple spots on the sides, and its abdomen is yellow-white.

The Kamchatka crab can live 20 years. Surprisingly, in rare cases, in an adult, the carapace grows up to 20-25 cm in width, and the weight can reach 7 kg. On average, there are males with a shell of 15-16 cm and a weight of 2.5 kg.

The females of this crustacean are much smaller in size and weight. They are distinguished by semicircular shapes and a fairly wide abdomen, under which eggs develop almost all year round. But the abdomen of males more closely resembles a symmetrical triangle.

Section 3. What do they eat?

Kamchatka crabs are real predators. They feed on mollusks, polychaetes, echinoderms, small sea acorns and many other bottom animals.

The claws of the Kamchatka crab are quite powerful. With them, he effortlessly tears apart the prey, then, using his legs and jaws, grinds it and sends the food into his mouth.

As a rule, the right claw is larger in size; it is used to break mollusk shells and crush the skeletons of sea urchins, but the left one is used by the crab only for gripping.

Section 4. Where do they winter?

Perhaps the answer to this question cannot but interest me. But in fact, where does the animal spend time during the cold season?

The wintering grounds of crabs are located relatively far from the coast, where the depth reaches 110-200 meters. Kamchatka crabs do not hibernate; they lead exactly the same active lifestyle in winter as in summer.

They have to go deeper due to the lower water temperature in shallow water and the formation of ice. In the spring, as soon as the sea bays are cleared of ice, crustaceans begin to move to smaller areas. It is interesting to note that during this period, males and females of the king crab move towards the shore separate groups. This can be explained simply: female crabs carry last year’s developed eggs on their abdominal legs. Halfway through the adults' journey to the shore, the larvae hatch.

Section 5. How do Kamchatka crabs reproduce?

About a month after migration, shoals of female and male individuals mix in shallow water, and the mating period begins. Moreover, the female Kamchatka crabs at this time look far from beautiful: a dirty shell overgrown with shells, empty shells from caviar completely covering the abdominal legs. But the males do not pay attention to this, they choose their girlfriends, pinching the females’ claws with their claws. Couples remain in this “handshake” position for 3 to 7 days.

After this, the males help the females molt - they pull off the females' contaminated old shell, and then attach spermatophores to the bases of their third pair of walking legs.

It should be noted that after mating, females and males again migrate separately, going in search of food.

Before the summer migration, males also molt, but alone among the stones. After a while, the female lays eggs, fertilizing them from the spermatophore. The female carries the eggs on herself until next spring.

Section 6. Why is this type of animal valuable?

Kamchatka crabs, or rather their tender meat, are highly valued by gourmets for their excellent taste, minimum quantity calories, high content of mineral elements, zinc, iodine, vitamins, amino acids.

The most valuable are caviar and meat located in the area of the legs, claws and the articulation of the legs with the body. From a medical point of view, dishes made from this crab are often recommended to be consumed to improve vision, as well as for anemia and various cardiovascular diseases.

Section 7. How to cook Kamchatka crab?

Properly cooked Kamchatka crab, photos of which can be seen on the menus of the most luxurious restaurants on the planet, has the most tender meat and a subtle aroma of sea freshness.

Is it possible to try it, as they say, at home? Well, of course! Not everyone knows that there is a simple and sufficient quick way cooking crab that everyone can handle. So, first of all, this crustacean should be boiled in very salty water, and to improve the taste, it is recommended to add allspice, carrots, leeks, onions, celery root and even wine. How to calculate everything correctly? Very simple. For example, for a crab weighing 1.5 kg, you need to take a pan that can hold at least 30 liters of water and 4 liters of wine.

You need to cook it for at least 15 minutes, but at the same time, when cooking, it is important to ensure that the crab is not overcooked, otherwise its meat will resemble rubber more than a delicious delicacy.

Kamchatka crab, photos and detailed description dishes from which are found in almost all cookbooks is great way surprise even the most picky gourmet guests.

Naturally, when setting the table you can’t do without beautiful presentation dishes. For example, why not put the finished crab on a dish along with herbs to make the delicacy look like it’s alive? Tempting? By the way, please note: it is advisable to first cut the crab shell near the claws. This will make cutting it much easier.

After the introduction of a food embargo in 2014 on agricultural products, raw materials and food from countries that applied economic sanctions against Russia, there is a shortage of many products on the market. European cheeses, fruits, fresh berries and seafood have disappeared from restaurant menus. Many establishments had to not only look for alternative suppliers, but also completely change their concept. As a result, over the past few years, restaurants have appeared in Moscow, the menu of which contains mainly Russian ingredients, primarily meat: “Voronezh”, “Ryba Net”, “Yuzhane” and many others. Russian fish and seafood also began to be in demand, and crabs replaced lobsters. To find out all about the latter, The Village spoke with the chef of the Erwin restaurant. RiverSeaOcean" by Alexey Pavlov and compiled a detailed guide to these crustaceans.

What kind of crabs are served in Moscow restaurants?

There are many varieties of crabs, but restaurants usually use only five to seven types, since other crustaceans have little meat. The most popular crab is Kamchatka crab. Other types are most often served to attract guests. Crabs differ from each other in habitat and seasonality - these factors influence appearance crustacean, its filling with meat and taste.

Kamchatka crab

Weight: from 3 to 7 kilograms

Catch: from September to April

Peculiarity: large size, caviar

Price: 10 thousand rubles for a live crab

It is also called royal, because among crustaceans Far East he is the largest. Kamchatka crab began to be bred in the Barents Sea in the mid-20th century, from where it is now caught and delivered to restaurants around the world. Kamchatka crab meat consists of dense and thick spaghetti-like fibers and usually has a sweetish taste. Although some crabs of this species may be salted, this depends on the sea in which the crustacean lived.

One of the features of this species is caviar. It is the size of a grape and has a light purple color when raw. Sometimes it occurs when ordering a whole crab. No one extracts caviar separately: it is expensive and illegal.

spiny crab

Weight: from 800 grams to 1.8 kilograms

Catch: cannot be caught during the molting period (mid-summer)

Peculiarity: spines all over the shell

Price: 6 thousand rubles for a live crab

The shell of this crab is covered with sharp spines from the head to the claws - hence the name. Despite its small size, the spiny crab is not inferior to the Kamchatka crab in terms of meat content. It tastes just as juicy and sweetish, although its fiber is less than king crab. The “thorn” is brought to Moscow from the southern part of the Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas.

Hairy crab

Weight: from 900 grams to 2 kilograms

Catch: from August to October

Peculiarity: unusual meat structure, liver

Price: 400 rubles per 100 grams

Hairy crab is being brought to Moscow from coastal waters Sakhalin. Hair crab is filled with meat and is fully used in cooking, just like king crab and spiny crab. This crab has a short season - only three months, but even during this time it contains a lot of meat. It has a rather specific taste, as it consists of very thin fibers, similar to threads.

The main value of the hairworm is the liver. It has the same positive effect on the human body as, for example, oysters. The hairworm's liver is small, about the size of a teaspoon, gray and tastes like a delicate dessert with sourness. However, the liver is not found in all hairworms.

frog crab

Weight: from 200 to 400 grams

Catch: throughout the year

Peculiarity: appearance

Price: 200 rubles per 100 grams

The crab got its name because of its resemblance to a frog: it has a large shell and small claws on top and bottom. There is little meat in the “frog” - only in the back of the crab, like crayfish. Its structure resembles pulp, and its taste is similar to fish such as sea bass or sea bream.

Frog crab is caught in Indian Ocean not far from Seychelles and delivered to Russia in boiled and frozen form. Some restaurants may serve the whole frog to make the dish interesting. But due to the strong shell, it is not easy to get to the meat, so it is better to ask to fillet the crab and process it.

Blue crab

Weight: from 400 to 500 grams

Catch: throughout the year

Peculiarity: the most tender meat

Price: 300 rubles per 100 grams

Blue crab lives on Atlantic coast Northern and South America, as well as in the Baltic, Mediterranean, Adriatic and North Seas. This crustacean has the softest and most tender meat due to the lack of fiber in it. But poor fillability - only 40% of the meat total mass bodies. Therefore, blue crab is usually used as an additional ingredient rather than as a main dish.

Snow crab

Weight: from 200 to 400 grams

Catch: from October to April

Peculiarity: looks like a spider

Price: 300 rubles per 100 grams

Snow crab is also called opilio. It is supplied to Moscow from Murmansk. Restaurants most often offer its phalanges - long (about 30 centimeters) and thin, like pencils, with a small amount sweetish meat, which is not very easy to get. Also used in cooking are the claws and “fists” of this crab. Opilio is dense, juicy and rich in vitamins meat.

How are crabs caught and prepared?

All crabs are caught, in principle, the same way - it’s just that some do it legally, and some don’t. Restaurants deliver crabs live, as well as fresh frozen and boiled-frozen. Live crabs are transported by plane in special containers with small briquettes that cool the container. After transportation, the crab is allowed to rest in its natural environment, otherwise it will die, and only then is it delivered to restaurants.

Live crabs can only be found during the season, since the rest of the time the crustaceans go to the bottom and feed from the resources of their own body - they cannot be caught. To cook crabs throughout the year, restaurants buy them fresh frozen or boiled-frozen. The taste of this meat is no different from freshly cooked meat.

Crabs can be cooked in different ways, it all depends on the imagination of the cook. But most often they are simply boiled or steamed, slightly processed olive oil, herbs and serve. Cooking time depends on the weight of the crab, but on average 30 minutes.

What do you eat crabs with?

Most often, crabs are served with hot melted butter, to which garlic and finely chopped herbs (for example, wild garlic) are added if desired. Among the sauces, the best is a simple aioli based on homemade mayonnaise. Some people like to eat crab with tartar, wasabi mayonnaise and other bright-tasting sauces, but they can overpower the taste of the meat. As for dishes with crab, it is better to combine it with simple products- cereals, spaghetti, bread. Classic dishes with crab include risotto, fettuccine, and bruschetta. Rose wine also goes well with crabs.

In the places where crabs are brought from, they are considered quite regular product. Some people specifically travel, for example, to Murmansk to try crab meat. But if we talk about large enterprises involved in growing these crustaceans, they do not sell anything to the locals, preferring to give all the goods to wholesalers, especially abroad.

How to eat crabs correctly?

Most easy way to cut a crab is to ask the cook to serve it to you open form. If you want to do everything yourself, then you should pick up scissors and start, for example, with the phalanx. The phalanx must be cut at the root and cut across to the very end on both sides. After which you need to remove the top cover and remove the meat with a special device that looks like a spatula with a clove. The claw attachment has three threads that hold everything together, so you have to pull the meat onto the plate from them.

To get the meat out of the “fist”, you just need to break it with a special hammer. The meat in the “fists” differs from the meat in the phalanges in its denser structure. As for the crab head, there is practically no meat in it. But if you wish, you can open it too. To do this, cut the crab with scissors starting from either side. Crabs only have a hard shell, and the bottom is soft, so it can be cut through without difficulty.

Subtype: Crustaceans Class: Higher crayfish Squad: Decapod crustaceans Family: Crab hermit crabs Genus: Paralithodes View: Kamchatka crab Latin name Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1885)

Images
on Wikimedia Commons

ITIS

NCBI

The cardiac and gastric regions of the shell are armed with three pairs of sharp large spines, regardless of the sex and age of the animal. The end of the beak (rostrum) is sharp, armed along the upper side with one large, often forked at the apex, spine and a pair of smaller spines. The movable spine (scaphocerite), located at the base of the outer antenna, is always simple and unbranched. The body and legs of living crabs are colored red-brown above and yellowish-white below, side surfaces have large purple spots.

Resettlement in the Barents Sea

The first attempts to study the issue of introducing the Kamchatka crab into the Barents Sea were made in 1932, however, after analyzing the situation, the work was frozen due to the lack of a reliable method of delivering crab specimens from the Far East.

Crab as a valuable food product

Meat is eaten ( white), located in the legs, claws and at the junction of the legs in the carapace, as well as the calf. The amount of meat in an individual may vary depending on the season. The main method of preparation is boiling: crab limbs are placed in salted boiling water and cooked for 15-20 minutes. After cooking, the meat can be canned or frozen and stored.