Northwest Dive Club

Does anyone down there eat Puget sound king crabs??

I'm going to go with no... They are not legal to harvest here.
"May not retain Puget Sound KING CRAB, BOX CRAB, or PACIFIC GRACEFUL CRAB." Page 133
http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01590/wdfw01590.pdf

Besides, their hella ugly.

Diver_Dave wrote:Does anyone down there eat Puget sound king crabs??

I've heard that they are delicious, but have never had the chance to partake myself.

I've also heard of people poaching one, doing a crab boil on a remote island beach, and partaking, but I don't remember who and couldn't tell you how they tasted.

I don't think a whole lot is known about their populations by anyone, frankly. Their habitat is very different from typical harvestable crab habitat (deep rock walls as opposed to sandy bottoms).

Perhaps an old timer can chime in from their knowledge of "back in the day".

I'd like to know if PUGET SOUND king crabs were once plentiful, or maybe not uncommon in central PS once a long long time ago. Not their usual habitat for sure. I've never seen one south of Skyline though there is sporadic reports of Juvis at Keystone and other locations.

fmerkel wrote:I'd like to know if PUGET SOUND king crabs were once plentiful, or maybe not uncommon in central PS once a long long time ago. Not their usual habitat for sure. I've never seen one south of Skyline though there is sporadic reports of Juvis at Keystone and other locations.

I doubt it. Not rocky enough, not enough walls. I think I've seen one at Waterman's, but all the Point Defiance/Dalco/Lobster Shack area walls are not the right substrate. Ditto Day Island and places like Z's and Sunrise.

fmerkel wrote:I'd like to know if PUGET SOUND king crabs were once plentiful, or maybe not uncommon in central PS once a long long time ago. Not their usual habitat for sure. I've never seen one south of Skyline though there is sporadic reports of Juvis at Keystone and other locations.

I have seen one or two at Keystone

Two at Possession Point Fingers.

For Jeremy & Jan, and others who might post of seeing PSKC in the Sound - what size were they?

I have seen juveniles, for instance at Point Hudson, and heard of juveniles at Keystone, but I have not heard of adults in the inner Sound - only in the San Juans or in the Straight headed toward Neah Bay.

Hear in S.E. Alaska they seam to be a lot around in the Pearl Straits area...Every time cucumber season starts in pearl we see them all the time...Good size and very good to eat.... Even have one hanging on the wall for show...

Seen few juvi at Skyline. Found one medium size molt and similar live. Not common at all.
Couple juvi at Pt. Hudson. Never any larger.

Waterman's was a little bigger than hand sized, not a juvenile.

Jan K wrote:Two at Possession Point Fingers.

When r u coming to S.E.Alaska to dive w/us...We have a lava tube dive u have to do...The tube comes up in the middle of a island...St.Lazeria island check it out....http://www.nwdiveclub.com/download/file.php?id=20960

Tom Nic wrote:For Jeremy & Jan, and others who might post of seeing PSKC in the Sound - what size were they?

I have seen juveniles, for instance at Point Hudson, and heard of juveniles at Keystone, but I have not heard of adults in the inner Sound - only in the San Juans or in the Straight headed toward Neah Bay.

About a hand size, same size one time at Keystone.

Nice Jan! Those are definitely getting bigger.

One wonders if they are a deep water species.

I know they like rocky habitat.

Any tech divers see them deep?

Seen 12 in one day cucumber diving all were under 50ft.. All were full sized

I have seen tons of juveniles at Pt Hudson but only one I would class as an adult.

It used to be legal to harvest Puget Sound King Crab years ago. My best friend, Sparky", and I would go up to the San Juans in January and February specifically to dive for them. We'd take our families, rent a cabin, and eat some of the finest seafood known to mankind. PSKC are absolutely delicious!!! However, they were placed on the list of "closed for harvest" species years ago for the primary reason that not much was/is known regarding their population size. Since the species is specifically cited in the regs as closed, under no circumstances should anyone construe my comments as a suggestion that you take some for eating!!!!

Most divers around here are ignorant of the species, and think that they are rare. That is simply because most divers do not dive in their habitat. PSKC live deep for most of the year, and their habitat is steep, rocky walls. Hence, you will find them in relative abundance on the walls of the San Juan Islands, but not at all in the sand and mud that makes up most of Puget Sound. Despite their almost extreme coloration they are easy to miss unless you are looking specifically for them and look right at them. I know a few experienced divers that "never" saw them until they were specifically pointed out to them....once they were, though, they saw them everywhere when they were IN THE RIGHT HABITAT.

That's the post i was waiting for! Thanks John.

We had this guy for dinner..