User:Novafish

--Novafish (talk) 23:26, 21 May 2012 (UTC)=== Southern Red King Crab ===

Lithodes santolla, common name Southern Red King Crab aka/ Southern King Crab, is caught in the South Atlantic Ocean where the geographic range is north into Uruguay, south through Argentina toward Chile's most southern range and east toward the United Kingdom, Falkland Islands.

In Spanish the word centolla translates to mean 'any marine crab'. This said, in the United States, "Centolla" is, in fact, the common name to designate the species Lithodes antarcticus. The common name for Lithodes santolla, is -not- centolla as it is for 'Lithodes antarcticus'. The differences between these two crab (L. santolla and L. antarcticus) are significant in both their geographic range and in their morphology. Pictures to compare these are available in a 6 minute movie which can be found at the website: http://www.southernredkingcrab.com  - and/ or -  http://www.novacrab.com

Where Lithodes santolla, Southern Red King Crab, is caught in the Atlantic Ocean, Lithodes antarticus, on the other hand, common name "Centolla", is caught in the Pacific Ocean where the geographic range is north through Peru and south through Chile.

The morphology of these two crab are quite different as well and most distinguishable by two features: shell protrusions (spines) and shell color. Lithodes antarcticus, "Centolla" has pronounced needle-like spines which cover its body in addition to having a uniform,deep magenta shell color. Southern Red King Crab, Lithodes santolla, although like all King crab which have protrustions (spines), they are distinctly small; in addition Southern Red King Crab has a shell color which is a light red tone on the shell top and an ivory white on the underside.

Lithodes santolla, Southern Red King Crab became a commercial fishery in 2008 following several years of test fishing by Centomar S.A., an Argentine fishing company in cooperation with NOVA Fisheries, a United States seafood processor. Simultaneous to test fishing, NOVA and Centomar, along with a Grant from the Resources Legacy Fund, http://www.resourceslegacyfund.org/, funded a study to see the Southern Red King Crab fishery managed, in cooperation with the highest sustainable standards provided through the oversight of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) based in London. As of December 2014, the assessment by MSC, it was decided, would be temporarily postponed/ withdrawn to provide time for further catch and population data to be assessed. The Montery Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch Program has the fishery assessed as a "Good Alternative", equivalent to that of King Crab caught in Alaska :  http://storage.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/mba_seafoodwatch_southernkingcrab_report.pdf

In 2009 the  United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recognizing the similarity of the Southern Red King Crab to that of King Crab species caught in the northern hemisphere of the North Pacific and North Atlantic (Paratlithodes camtschaticus ,  Paralitodes platypus,  Lithodes aequispina ) sanctioned the additional market name 'NOVA crab' for Southern Red King Crab. Although all of these crab are quite similar, the US FDA publishes the Seafood List to provide consumers, in the United States, with both acceptable market name(s) and scientific common name which assure honesty in labeling:  http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/Seafood/ucm113260.htm

The science of L.santolla, Southern Red King Crab and L.antarcticus, Centolla goes back to where these two distinct crab were thought of as one and hence the Spanish word, centolla (meaning 'any marine crab'), was commonly used in the discussion of either and both. Today, many Spanish speaking people commonly use the Spanish word, centoalla, to speak of these as well as when making reference to other marine crab. In North America, Europe and across Asia however, the Spanish word centolla is rarely used except to designate the common name of L. antarcticus.

The following historic information, below, provides additionl [dated] recordings to which such tends to confuse these two Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean fisheries for what are two geographically and morphologically different crab:

Lithodes santolla, also known as the southern king crab in English or centolla in Peru, Chile and Argentina,[3] is a species of king crab, found off the Pacific coasts of South America, especially from Valdivia at 39° 50' S to Cape Horn at 60° S.[4] It lives in the benthic zone at depths up to 150 metres (490 ft), but south of 40° it has been found at 600 m (2,000 ft).[4]

The lucrative centolla fishery around Tierra del Fuego led to an incident in August 1967 when the Argentine schooner Cruz del Sur was found fishing 400 metres (1,300 ft) from Gable Island and had to be escorted out of Chilean waters by the Chilean patrol boat Marinero Fuentealba.[5] This event among many other led to the build of the Beagle conflict in the late 1970s.