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You have a unique opportunity to observe these animals, moved by Soviet scientists to the Barents Sea in the early 1960s.
Apart from locals and a few experts, not a lot of people know that the King crab lives in the Barents Sea. This is not surprising, because the species appeared here only in the mid-1970s. The brilliant experiment by Soviet scientists of introducing the King crab into the Barents Sea was long considered a failure. It was 10 years after the first relocation before it was finally recognised as a success. You can read the full story of the relocation here.
Nowadays, the King crab population in the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea is growing steadily, though crab harvesting is forbidden within Russian waters. The population of these unusual animals is being actively observed from the Kartesh.
A specialised diving safari, a main element of which is this observation, takes place every year.
Perhaps the most amazing sight captured by the Kartesh’s crew underwater is that of a multitude of small crabs gathering in enormous living mounds for protection when moulting.
Experts today have several points of view on the King crab resettlement issue: some consider the experiment a total success, while others see it as harmful to the Barents Sea ecology. Some experts think commercial crab harvesting should be allowed, while others say the crab population is not yet big enough. Participants in a Kartesh safari have the opportunity to see this problem with their own eyes and to form an authoritative opinion about this issue. Authoritative, because a large number of divers on the safari are fortunate enough to observe the species underwater in natural conditions.
