Paralithodes platypus, the blue king crab, is a species of North Pacific king crab which lives near St. Colder water slows the rate of crab growth and crabs at northern latitudes are often smaller than more southern crabs. Matthew Island is limited to crabs with Alaskan red king crab greater than 5.
Blue king crabs can be found in the Bering Sea in relatively small abundances compared to red king crabs. The main populations near Alaska are found near the Diomede Islands, Point Hope, St. Matthew Island, and the Pribilof Islands. Pribilof Island blue king crabs mate and produce eggs in late March to early May. Female blue king crabs in the Pribilof Islands grow to the largest size before they are reproductively mature. CL and Diomede crabs are similar.
Environmental variables, such as tides, temperature, salinity, light, phytoplankton blooms, and predation, are seasonally pulsed and likely serve as cues for larval release. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Evaluating changes in spatial distribution of blue king crab near St. Archived from the original on 20 June 2007.
King Crabs of the World: Biology and Fisheries Management. Recruitment patterns of Alaskan crabs in relation to decadal shifts in climate and physical oceanography”. Divisions of Sport Fish and Commercial Fisheries. Application of a catch-survey analysis to blue king crab stocks near Pribilof and St. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Juneau, Alaska. Report to Industry on the 2001 Eastern Bering Sea Crab Survey. University of Alaska Sea Grant College Program Report, vol.