King crabs are caught for food. Most of the time they are only found in cold waters. The king crab usually feeds off of starfish and smaller crabs, but if they are not available, the king crab will eat dead animals that may fall into the water. The spikes that some of these crabs have are used to deter predators.
Types
The golden king crab, the red king crab and the blue king crab are the three main types of king crabs.
The Golden King Crab
These crabs are found in the waters near Alaska and are the smallest of the king crabs. They are found in deeper water than the red king crab.
The Blue King Crab
The largest numbers of the blue king crab are found in Bristol Bay just off Alaska's coast. These king crabs are some of the largest king crabs in the world. Because it looks and tastes like the red king crab, it is often sold as the red king crab by mistake.
The Red King Crab
These crabs can be found in the Bering Sea and have very sweet meat. These crabs were placed into the European Arctic, and it has become overly populated with them.
Size
Some red king crabs have been measured at 11 inches, while there have been blue king crabs that have weighed up to 18 pounds. The golden king crab can weigh up to 8 pounds.
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