Chionoecetes opilio, Snow crab : fisheries

Chionoecetes opilio   (Fabricius, 1788)

Snow crab

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Chionoecetes opilio  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Chionoecetes opilio

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Oregoniidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 4 - 1400 m (Ref. 119370), usually 100 - 300 m (Ref. 117890).  Boreal; -1°C - 10°C (Ref. 78815), preferred 3°C (Ref. 107945); 79°N - 29°N, 20°E - 43°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northern Pacific, Northern Atlantic and the Arctic. Introduced to the Northeast Atlantic (Barents Sea) and the Arctic (Kara Sea). Boreal to polar.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 5.0, range 5 - ? cm Max length : 13.7 cm CW male/unsexed; (Ref. 127428); max. published weight: 864.00 g (Ref. 127428)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Sediments mostly consisted of fine brown mud, either with or without nodules, pebbles and foraminiferans (Ref. 119389). Also found on sandy and gravelly bottoms (Ref. 119370). With year round temperatures 0 to 5°C (Ref. 78817). Exhibits cannibalism (Ref. 101157).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Kon, T., T. Adachi and Y. Suzuki 2003 Distribution of snow crab, Chionoecetes spp., larvae off Wakasa Bay in the Sea of Japan. Fisheries Science 69:1109-1115. (Ref. 93379)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Pictures
References
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.4 - 7.1, mean 2.9 (based on 631 cells).
Prior r = 0.58, 95% CL = 0.38 - 0.87, Based on 4 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.
Nutrients :  Calcium = 109 [35, 184] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [1.21, 1.97] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.185, 0.386] g/100g; Selenium = 48.3 [-31.7, 128.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.17, 2.40] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.

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