As the most common type of crab in the Pacific Ocean, Dungeness crabs are found from Alaska to Northern California. These crabs are named after the town of Dungeness on Washington state's Olympic peninsula. Blue crab is found on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean. They are very common in Chesapeake Bay and are found all the way from Canada to Brazil.
Blue crab's are typically 2 to 6 inches long. They are olive green on the back, also known as the carapace, and white on the underside. Their forelimbs are partially blue or red; this pigmentation is where they get their name. Much larger than the blue, the Dungeness crab can grow to be 10 inches and weigh up to 3 lbs. Their shell is greenish-brown on the carapace and white to light orange on the underside but turns red when cooked.
Only the male Dungeness crabs are harvested for food. Because about one quarter of this crab's weight is meat, they are a popular food item. The flavor of the Dungeness crab has been called delicate and they are usually served warm with melted butter. Blue crabs are reported to be the best for use in crab cake. Their lower meat-to-shell ratio makes it a bit more labor intensive to remove the usable meat from its shell.
Blue crabs have experienced severe declines because of changes in their environment and habitat. Ecological management is in place for several parts of the blue crab's habitat and is especially important as the female blue crab only mates once in her lifetime. Unlike the blue crab, the Dungeness has not experienced periods of great decline, but the ecological needs of this crab are still important, particularly because a young crab takes two years to reach maturity and must have a safe and consistent environment to go through their five larval stages.