Snow Crab
Chionoecetes opilio
Photo: Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Keep or release?
Where are you fishing?
Size limits, seasons and female rules are set by each state. Pick yours to get a verdict.
TIDE covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland rules, plus federal protections everywhere.
Verifying against GBIF…
Conservation status
IUCN Red ListNot evaluated globally, and the Bering Sea population underwent one of the most dramatic marine die-offs ever recorded.
What Not Evaluated means
No global Red List assessment exists. Regional stock assessments are the better guide for this species.
On your plate
Check Local Guidance
The Bering Sea snow crab fishery was closed outright in 2022 after billions of crabs disappeared. Atlantic Canadian fisheries continue under quota.
Regional fishing status
The Bering Sea fishery closed for the 2022–23 season — the first closure in its history — after abundance collapsed. NOAA research links the loss to a marine heatwave that raised the crabs' metabolic demand beyond available food.
If you buy it
- Canadian Atlantic snow crab remains available and managed under quota.
- Check the origin: 'snow crab' covers fisheries in very different states of health.
Conservation status and seafood sustainability are two different questions. A species can be Least Concern globally and still be overfished, protected or unsustainable where you are.
Habitat
Cold, deep continental shelf waters on mud and sand
Range
Bering Sea, North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic
Size
Up to 16 cm shell width, with a much wider leg span
Diet
Fish, clams, worms and other crustaceans
Lifespan
Up to 20 years
Group
crustacean
An estimated ten billion snow crabs vanished from the Bering Sea between 2018 and 2021.
NOAA scientists concluded the most likely cause was starvation: a marine heatwave raised the crabs' energy needs while their food supply did not keep up.
Snow crabs need cold water — the 'cold pool' of the Bering Sea shrank dramatically in the same period.
Cook this species
Ways to cook Snow Crab
Global conservation status does not tell you whether this species is sustainable to catch in your region. Where it was caught, and how, decides that.
Try this instead
Sustainable seafood alternatives
While Snow Crab stocks recover, these choices carry a lighter footprint.