MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

King crab season takes off in southern Chile; 2.600 tons were caught in 2009

A delicacy worldwide, 90% of each year’s catch is exported

Chile’s King Crab season has officially kicked off for this year. The southern king crab is a delicacy in Chile, as 90% of each year’s catch is shipped to markets in Europe, North America and Asia. In Santiago, fresh king crab starts at about 25 US dollars per pound.

Last year the industry caught 2,600 tons of king crab for sales of about 20 million US dollars. Getting fresh crab to Santiago is certainly not an easy task because it must be consumed within three days.

About 1,600 people work on small crab-fishing vessels throughout the southern channels in the Pacific, especially south of the Beagle Channel, where they stay all season. Only male crab can be caught, and they must be at least five inches from antennae to end.

Other boats take the product ashore, carrying up to 10 tons in saltwater tanks. These vessels take from seven to 14 days to reach the port.

The race begins immediately after reaching land; the crab is transported to slaughter and processing plants, where the meat is cooked for 10 to 15 minutes and vacuum packed at 0 degrees Celsius to be sent by air to the central area. The whole crab can also be cooked, without breaking its shell, and vacuum-sealed.

The meat is then flown from the southern tip of Chile to Santiago in refrigerated containers. It is met by refrigerated trucks and distributed to restaurants and retailers. Upscale restaurants serving king crab charge US$4.50 or more per ounce.

By Andrew Dornon – Santiago Times