Jonah Crab - The East Coast's Answer to Dungeness Crab

The most popular seafood among U.S. consumers is shrimp, but a close second is crab.  Crabs are found in both cold and warm water, in all parts of the world.  The most popular varieties are Dungeness, King Crab, Snow Crab and Jonah crabmeat.

Dungeness is a species of crab that inhabits eelgrass beds and water bottoms from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Santa Cruz, California.  They are named after Dungeness, Washington where the first commercial harvesting of the variety was done. Like all crabs, the Dungeness is high in protein and minerals and low in fat, it has a delicate flavor that is slightly sweet.  Dungeness crab is one of the meatiest crabs available--one quarter of the crab's total weight is meat.

Alaskan King crab is harvested during a very short season making it a rare treat for seafood lovers.  King crabs are caught off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, although large numbers are also caught in Russia and international waters. This variety is frequently served in fine restaurants because of the impressive size of the legs and the rich flavor of the meat. 

Another type of crab served in fine restaurants is the Snow crab.  Snow crabs are caught as far north as the Arctic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean, and across the Pacific Ocean, including the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska.  This variety is known for its sweet flavor and delicate texture.

Jonah Crab claws are relatively large and can be an inexpensive substitute for stone crab claws. With only a handful of processors specializing in this fishery, the quality of Jonah and rock crabmeat is very consistent. Landings of Jonah in 2004 amounted to 2,000 MT (4.4 million pounds). In Canada, there continues to be a limited-entry offshore fishery for Jonah crab, during the closed season for lobster. The claws are so well muscled that they are generally a more prized food over legs, which are more typically sought after in other crab species. Jonah meat is more uniformly white with a less sweet taste (although this is the species often known as Atlantic Dungeness).