Morphology, processing attributes, fatty acid, and amino acid composition in cooked leg meat and raw hepatopancreas of juvenile male red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) after 12 months of live holding

This study investigated how diet composition (DC) (i.e., raw shrimp or dry feed alone and combinations thereof) affected the morphology, processing attributes, fatty acid (FA)- and amino acid (AA) composition in cooked leg meat and raw hepatopancreas of juvenile red king crabs (RKCs). After 12 months, the crab weight nearly doubled, and the average mortality was 10%. The DC influenced the attributes of the cooked leg meat and the raw hepatopancreas. In addition, crumbling the dry feed led to reduced nutritive conditions, especially in the 80 and 100% dry feeding groups. In the leg meat, the main FA components were PUFA, MUFA, and SFA in descending order, while for the raw hepatopancreas, the corresponding order was MUFA, PUFA, and SFA. Minor AA variations across the groups were observed in the cooked leg meat and raw hepatopancreas. A PCA revealed a grouping of selected morphological-, processing attributes, and FAs according to the 20 and 100% dry feed groups. This study did not explore the specific feed intake. Hence, whether the results reflect the DC, a lower feed intake due to the crumbling, or a combination is unknown. Overall, the results show positive prospects for live holding of juvenile RKCs. •Juvenile red king crabs were successfully fed through one molt.•Crumbling the dry feed led to reduced nutritive conditions for the crabs.•The results show positive prospects for feeding juveniles in captivity.