Snow Crabs White Like Snow Landed at Fishing Ports in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:50 JST, January 10, 2026

TOYOOKA, Hyogo – Two white snow crabs were landed at fishing ports on the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hyogo Prefecture.

Local aquarium Kinosaki Marine World in Toyooka has acquired the crustaceans and is displaying one of them to the public.

A mutation or some other factor is thought to have caused the snow crabs, which are usually brown, to lack pigmentation, resulting in their pure white shells.

One of the crabs is male, and the other is female. The male, which was caught at the end of last month, weighed 454 grams and had a shell width of 10.8 centimeters. The female crab was landed at a fishing port in Toyooka.

According to records from a local fisheries technology center, 17 white or speckled snow crabs have been spotted in the region, including these two, but this is the first time a female has been spotted.

The male crab was placed in a tank with other snow crabs, while the female has not been put on display, as it is carrying eggs. The aquarium plans to allow the eggs to hatch.

“White individual snow crabs are easy targets, making it difficult for them to survive,” said an aquarium official. “This is the first time I’ve seen a white female, so I’m looking forward to seeing what it will grow into.”