https://www.mainelobsternow.com/blog/types-of-alaskan-crab
https://www.fortunefishco.net/bairdi-snow-crab
■ Bairdi Crab Season: Dec - Mar
Do not be confused or mislead, this Is Not the Small Snow Crab (Opilio 1-2 lbs) you find at the all-you-can-eat-buffets, common restaurants, box stores, or elsewhere. This is Bairdi (Tanner), and Bairdi is considered the best tasting crab by foodies, artisan chefs, and crabbers. It is sweet, succulent, and light with a delicate texture. The harvest is usually small and limited, so those who are knowledgeable, and in-the-know about seafood, are quick to buy this crab, including Alaskans.
Scientific Name: Chionoecetes Bairdi
치오노에세테스 베르디
Catch Area: Bering Sea & North Pacific
Style: Frozen Sections & Whole Crab (3-5 lbs)
Grade: 400g +/- sections (half crab)
Packaging: 40/lb box and custom box sizes
■ Opilio Crab Season: Jan - March
We catch, process, and sell this widely popular crab. It is abundant and the price point is great for entry level clients. This is the buffet, common restaurant, box store crab that most are familiar with. Great for those who need a semi-neutral flavor for sauces and seasoning, but want to advertise that you have Alaskan crab to bring in the crowds.
Scientific Name: Chionoecetes Opilio
치오노에세테스 오필리오
Catch Area: Alaska
Style: Frozen Sections
Grade: 3 sizes
Packaging: 20/40 lbs and custom box sizes
Where is Bairdi crab from?
The Bairdi crab, also known as tanner crab or Chionoecetes Bairdi is a type of crab that is found in the Bering Sea.
They are very similar to Opilio crabs which are known as Chionoecetes Opilio and it can be extremely difficult to differentiate between the two.
Opilio crabs are also found in the Bering Sea and are commercially sold under the name of ‘snow crabs’.
In recent times, tanner crabs have been under threat due to overfishing. Tanner crabs are what are referred to as true crabs; they have short tails and are decapods with pincer claws on the front-most pair of their legs. Their life expectancy stretches to about a decade with the adults reaching about one to four pounds at adulthood, in about five years.
In contrast to this, the Opilio crab is also found in other areas such as the northwest Atlantic Ocean as well as the North Pacific Ocean. It is a well-known species that is usually caught with traps or by trawling. Snow crabs or the Opilio crabs have long and wide carapaces, that is, protective shell coverings that are over their bodies. The bodily projections on their shells, the tubercles, are somewhat enclosed in deposits of calcium. Moreover, they have triangular spines and a well-defined gastric region internally. The bronchial region is also what we might call very well-defined. Moving on, they have little granules along the border of their bodies.
http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-bairdi-crab-and-opilio-crab/
Difference Between Bairdi crab and Opilio crab
Summary of differences expressed in points:
The Bairdi crab is also known as tanner crab or Chionoecetes Bairdi; Opilio crabs are also known as Chionoecetes Opilio or Snow crabs
The Bairdi crab is found in the Bering Sea; Opilio crab is found in the Bering Sea, in the northwest Atlantic Ocean as well as in the North Pacific Ocean
Bairdi crabs have short tails and are decapods with pincer claws on the front-most pair of their legs; Opilio crabs have long and wide carapaces which are protective shell coverings that are over their bodies, the bodily projections on their shells-tubercles, are somewhat enclosed in deposits of calcium
The Bairdi crabs are known as King crabs whereas the Opilio crabs are known as Queen crabs
Unlike the Opilio, only Bairdi has a succulent and sweet flavour
Bairdi crabs are larger than Opilio crabs
Opilio crabs are more easily available than Bairdi crabs
Last season’s biggest surprise was a whopping 15 million pound Tanner crab catch, the largest in 20 years. Bairdi Tanners are the larger cousin of snow crab. The summer survey showed levels of male Tanner crabs continued to increase.
Bairdi Tanner Crabs
They are caught off the coast of Alaska at depths of 36 to 340 meters and the quota is much smaller than king or opilio so it is harder to find and has a greater demand.
https://www.fortunefishco.net/bairdi-snow-crab
Chionoecetes bairdi Rathbun, 1893 – tanner crab, bairdi, or inshore tanner crab
Other names for crabs in this genus include "queen crab" (in Canada) and "spider crab" – they are known by different names in different areas of the world.
The generic name Chionoecetes means snow (χιών, chion) inhabitant (οἰκητης, oiketes);
opilio means shepherd, and C. opilio is the primary species referred to as snow crab.
Marketing strategies, however, employ snow crab for anything in the genus Chionoecetes. The name "snow crab" refers to their being commonly found in cold northern oceans.