Blue king crab Paralithodes platypus are found in the North Pacific waters of Alaska and Russia. Stoutamore (2014) concluded that some genetic divergence may occur between the Russian and Alaskan populations, although stock structure is poorly understood (Stoutamore 2014). Within Russian waters, distinctions for management purposes are made among Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and Sea of Japan populations. The species' range in Russian waters stretches from Chukotka in the north down to Primoriya in the south (Koblikov et al. 2010); southward of that, there is a fishery in Hokkaido, Japan, as well. Among blue king crab in Russia, the population residing in the northeastern Sea of Okhotsk region that abuts up to Shelikhov Bay (i.e., in an area that includes the Western Kamchatka fishing zone covered in this profile) is known to be the most productive (Shaginyan 2019).