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The Pribilof Islands blue king crab ( Paralithodes platypus) fishery collapsed over two decades ago, is considered overfished, and has not recovered in the absence of fishing. Red king crab ( Paralithodes camtschaticus) abundance estimates have exceeded blue king crab for over three decades. We investigated the roles of larval recruitment and habitat availability as potential mechanisms limiting blue king crab recovery. We conducted young-of-year abundance and habitat assessments near Saint Paul Island from 2017 to 2019 and compared these results to 1983–1984 historical data to assess changes in larval supply and benthic substrates. Historically abundant blue king crab settlers were rarely encountered in our surveys. Red king crab settlers, once rare in historical surveys, are now more common throughout the region in low abundance. Benthic habitats did not change over time, as 90% of resampled sites had similar substrates. We conclude that larval supply and not benthic habitat is limiting juvenile recruitment. Our results could inform future fishery rebuilding efforts for blue king crab, which could include approaches to increase larval supply and juvenile recruitment through aquaculture.