Edible crab Cancer pagurus are distributed throughout shallow waters of the NE Atlantic from the northern coast of Norway, to the Canary Islands (Bakke 2019; IMR 2020). Highest abundance of the species occurs along the western French coast, in the English Channel, around the British Isles, in the North Sea, off the western coast of Sweden, and in Norway along the entire southern coast and up to Tromsø (north of the Lofoten Islands). The population in Norwegian waters is less well studied relative to neighboring populations in the UK, Ireland and France (Bakke 2019). Evidence suggests edible crab is a highly connected species, with gene flow occurring within and among the Irish Sea, English Channel and North Sea populations (McKeown et al. 2017; McKeown et al. 2018); and research to date has not detected significant genetic population structure at local or regional scales (Ungfors et al. 2009; McKeown et al. 2017; McKeown et al. 2018). Edible crab in Norwegian waters are, however, managed as a single stock (ICES 2013).