10 Cast Net: Alaska Dungeness Crab

Alaska Dungeness Crab

The Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) is a popular shellfish that inhabits bays, estuaries, and the nearshore coast of Alaska. The Dungeness crab is named after one of its representative habitats-a shallow, sandy bay inside of Dungeness Spit on the south shore of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. It is widely distributed, however, and can be found as far north as Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound and south to Magdalena Bay, Mexico. This crab supports both a commercial fishery and a personal use fishery in Alaska. Dungeness crabs are related to shrimp, lobster, and other crabs. The ungeness crab has a broad, oval body covered by a hard chitinous shell. It has four pairs of walking egs and a pair of claws. This species can be distinguished from other commercially important crabs king and Tanner crabs) because its legs are much smaller and shorter in relation to its body size and it has no spines on the top side of its crapace.