Alaska King Crab...Fresh???

[picruiser]

I'm a fan of "world's deadliest catch" on tv, and am looking forward to having fresh king crab lages while on a cruise tour to Alaska. I read an article where the crab legs served in Alaska have been frozen, packed and shipped to the restaurants...so, no place up there between Fairbanks and Whittier serve fresh crab legs???

[Gardyloo]

As the King Crab fishery is in the winter in the Bering and North Pacific, I wouldn't want it fresh during cruise season if I were you.

[mbisson]

As the King Crab fishery is in the winter in the Bering and North Pacific, I wouldn't want it fresh during cruise season if I were you.

 

Sounds stinky :(

[picruiser]

As the King Crab fishery is in the winter in the Bering and North Pacific, I wouldn't want it fresh during cruise season if I were you.

 

Just wondering, since lobster season in Maine is only a few months but we're still able to get live lobster in the super markets all over the world...

[bearbait]

Those come from lobster farms, just like farmed salmon. Your supposed to raise cows and chickens on a farm. Not wild seafood....Artifical colors added for free.

[luvscruising2007]

I'm glad somebody else mentioned King Crab. My husband loves it, as do I, and we are looking forward to consuming some while on our trip. Will we be able to get King Crab in the ship dining room or will we have to find it at a landside restaurant? I had read that the season is very short and there are not plentiful. Any info is appreciated.

J

[kellywhitehills]

I LOVE THAT SHOW..If I were young and a man Id be a crab fisherman...:)

King Crab season is in the winter...

[wolfie11]

Dungeness crab, which IMO tastes better than king crab, is fresh throughout SE Alaska in the summer. You can buy it on the docks in Juneau....I'm not sure where they serve it at a restaurant, though, since I usually catch my own.

[Gardyloo]

I worked all over the Bering Sea and Aleutian chain during the King crab boom of the 70s and 80s. The species (red Kings) was nearly wiped out by a virtually unregulated fishing industry. The stocks are just now starting to recover. The TV show is mostly about crabbers going after other species.

 

The toll in human lives and family suffering of those unregulated fisheries was terrible - not just the loss of loved ones, but lives wrecked by drugs, easy money, injuries, corruption...

 

I swore off King crab around then, and don't regret it. I'm not saying others shouldn't enjoy it (and sorry if this sounds like a political rant) but do try the Dungeness crab.

[gambit57]

I love all crab. I'm looking forward to the King Crab mainly because I can get really great and fresh dungeoness crab every year locally (San Francisco). Fresh salmon and king crab is much harder to get (altho, I still can't tell if the King Crab in Alaska is going to be fresh or not as someone mentioned the season was a while ago).

[The Screwball]

I worked all over the Bering Sea and Aleutian chain during the King crab boom of the 70s and 80s. The species (red Kings) was nearly wiped out by a virtually unregulated fishing industry. The stocks are just now starting to recover. The TV show is mostly about crabbers going after other species.

 

The toll in human lives and family suffering of those unregulated fisheries was terrible - not just the loss of loved ones, but lives wrecked by drugs, easy money, injuries, corruption...

 

I swore off King crab around then, and don't regret it. I'm not saying others shouldn't enjoy it (and sorry if this sounds like a political rant) but do try the Dungeness crab.

 

I live on the Chesepeake Bay. The Blue Crabs out here are going through the same problem of being wiped out. However, on top of the fact they are being overfished we have polution problems in the bay.

[nucruisers]

We've never had dungeoness crab and hope we'll be able to try it on our NB late May cruise. Is late May too early in the season. If not, where's the best places to try them?

 

Thanks all.

[RichardK]

If memory serves, I believe that Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians is the main port for King Crab fishing. They have processing plants there, so that any catch brought in is steamed, frozen, packed, and shipped.

 

My guess is that the King Crab you get in Anchorage or Juneau is the same "frozen variety" that you get in New York of Boston.

[GlacierLady]

The Crab Pot in Seward has had a tank with live crabs. You can pick out which one you want and have your picture taken with it before consuming. I've heard the food is good but spendy as I haven't eaten there myself. As with many places around here..they are open only in summer.

[Gardyloo]

If memory serves, I believe that Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians is the main port for King Crab fishing. They have processing plants there, so that any catch brought in is steamed, frozen, packed, and shipped.

 

My guess is that the King Crab you get in Anchorage or Juneau is the same "frozen variety" that you get in New York of Boston.

Yes, and it's probably gotten to Anchorage via Seattle.

[wolfie11]

There are small king crab fisheries in SE Alaska and Kodiak where the crab is probably local and not via Seattle, but it is still frozen.