This is a life full of horizontal fruits of the Alaska sea emperor

In the name of the emperor, this crustacean life is truly horizontal. It was safe to hide deeply under the Alaska waters near-the-most-fruitful and still caught . It's all because . the meat is so delicious, so rare, so much cravings.

In the heyday before the 80s, fishermen hunted a lot of red and blue emperor crabs weighing 7-8kg. The average size is now only 3-5kg.

There are three main emperor crabs on the market, they are distinguished by color: red emperor (best and most delicious)> blue> gold (brown crab).

In addition, there is a kind of bright red, but smaller and rarely seen so not very noticeable.

From left to right, top down: red crabs, blue crabs, golden crabs, bright red crabs.

Next let's explore the life cycle of the deep "emperors"!

1. Born with 500 thousand siblings but very difficult to survive

The life of the emperor began in the eggshell, along with about . 45 - 500 thousand other "egg" siblings. The baby egg is transported by the mother in the tail section for almost a year.

The baby egg is transported by the mother in the tail section for almost a year.

Then the eggshell also opened, turning to larval stage lasting 2-3 months. At this stage, "baby" crabs are particularly vulnerable, can be washed away or buried.

The meager survivors will work hard to feed, they often eat plankton and their crust will gradually form during this period. This is the first shell in about 5 times to replace the shell of the emperor.

One thing in particular is that the female crab will have to replace the shell to be able to breed.

2. Spend the whole spring to crawl . laying

Only at this stage, the king's crab will make a comedy . a crab. In the next 2 - 4 years, the crab spends time consolidating the group. After that, move to the shallower water to . lay. Many have to crawl 100 miles (160km) to find shallow seas.

On average, blue crabs, red crabs settle at a depth of 30 - 60m. And brown crabs are nearly 100m deep - this is the most hidden species in the emperor's relatives.

In the next 2 - 4 years, the crab spends time consolidating the group.

So after 2-4 years, a new generation has been born. Emperor crabs can also live choking for more than 20 years. Hearing that, you may find it difficult to understand why crabs are so fertile and their productivity is declining until the end ?!

Because of the regulation of Alaska state, the king crab must be 7 - 9 years to reach the size allowed to catch. On the other hand, the survival rate of young crabs is very low.

3. The vicious cycle of life is to . eat and be eaten

The king's menu is quite diverse, including: clam - oyster - snail, deep sea, "sand dollar" (starfish), algae and . smaller crabs. The menu will vary depending on the age and depth of crabs living.

The menu of the king's crab will vary depending on the age and depth of the crab.

Besides humans, emperor crabs also have many other "nightmares" such as flounder, cod, otter, octopus and other crabs (not important to species, just big crabs are crab "meat" little).

The irony is that fishermen often use cod fish as bait, placed in the king's trap cage. The day before the fish had just swallowed the crab, the crabs ate the fish the next day.

4. Stories not to mention the process . "onto the plate"

Usually, crabs are processed right in Alaska, discarding very little flesh, keeping the legs and legs, then chilling and moving around the United States.

Delicious and nutritious king crab meat.

In addition, there is a large amount of crab meat available for delivery to Japan - the king's major consumer market, especially for premium sushi!

Currently there are many restaurants in New York, London, Japan, China . that require buying fresh king crabs.

To meet this tough requirement, crabs will be kept in water and transported by plane for 24 - 36 hours.

Preserving the emperor's crab.

Because the preservation is too difficult, it does not have much economic significance (heavy but almost only eat with the foot), so live crab still accounts for a very small proportion of the total number of crabs distributed.

And note that the emperor's crab is in many places like Russia, Norway, even a small amount in Japan, South America . but only crabs live in the new Alaska Sea are called "Alaska emperor crabs"!

Russian emperor crabs are smaller, cheaper and have different colors of Alaska emperors.

Crabs in Alaska are not only plentiful, high quality, but also are basically caught and considered environmental factors.

According to many sources, Alaskan crab has a more sustainable exploitation than the Russian emperor, so the price is nearly twice as high.

The price of Alaska crabs is about 1-1.3 million VND / kg while the Russian king crab is about 600 thousand VND / kg. But this is just a "starting price " , not a " ceiling price".