In Erimo Town, Hokkaido, an event was held to hand out free giant snow crabs, which have been caught in large quantities since last year.
In the Hidaka region on the Pacific side of Hokkaido, large numbers of giant snow crabs have been occurring since last year, and on peak days, 10 tons of snow crabs are landed at the fishing port in Erimo town.
Under these circumstances, on the 23rd, the local fishermen's cooperative prepared approximately 4,200 crabs and held an event to give out free crabs to town residents, in an effort to get people to taste and consume giant snow crabs.
At the Fisheries Cooperative's office in the Honmachi area, fishermen were handing out giant snow crabs, about 10 centimeters in size, in an aquarium to visitors.
A woman in her 30s who received a giant snow crab said, ``The crab legs are thin, but there's a lot of meat in it and it's delicious, so I'm glad I received it.''
Giant snow crabs are about one-tenth the price of hairy crabs, a specialty of Erimo Town, and the fishermen's cooperative is looking for ways to use them, in addition to selling them at direct sales outlets and as return gifts for hometown tax donations.
Takehiko Kaneko, Counselor of the Erimo Fisheries Cooperative Association, said, ``We planned this event to spread awareness about the deliciousness of giant snow crab and to increase its consumption.It's a very delicious crab, so I hope people will try it.''