RedKingCrab – Fishermens News

Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

10Jan

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Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

Although the allowable harvest is yet to be determined, the commercial red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Norton Sound is set to begin on Feb. 1, with a guideline harvest level (GHL) similar to last year’s winter fishery. To date, no buyers have registered for this winter red king crab season and participating commercial crab permit holders will need their own markets. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) said catcher-seller and direct marketer application forms are available at the Nome ADF&G office or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishlicense.main. Crewmember licenses are also available at ADF&G in Nome or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Crab Plan Team has yet to make recommendations on 20...

Bristol Bay Red King Crab Fishery Scheduled to Open Oct. 15

11Oct

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Bristol Bay Red King Crab Fishery Scheduled to Open Oct. 15

Alaska’s Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is set to open at noon on Oct. 15 after being closed for two years due to stocks not meeting minimal levels for fishing. The set quota is 2.15 million pounds, just slightly lower than the 2020 opener of 2.6 million pounds. The announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) was cheered by long time drabber captains like Glenn Casto of the f/v Pinnacle, who called it a start in the right direction that would help pay bills and help out crew. Veteran crab captains Oystein Lone, and Gabriel Prout also praised the decision to let them fish. “It’s a needed lifeline for us to keep our businesses afloat,” said Lone, captain and owner of the f/v Confidence and f/v Pacific Mariner. “The impacts the fleet and the stock cont...

Bering Sea Crabbers Partner With Alaska, Feds to Study Red King Crab

1Mar

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Bering Sea Crabbers Partner With Alaska, Feds to Study Red King Crab

Harvesters in the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery are partnering with federal and state agencies to collect critical winter data in a month-long project that was slated to start in March to help inform management decisions. The research goal is to collect data sought by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to help the council decide what actions might improve those stocks to a level to allow for the multi-million-dollar fishery to resume. The study’s lead, Mike Litzow of NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said the collaborative effort offered an exciting chance to study these crab stocks in winter. “That’s when people really interact with the stock — the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery and many other fisheries that potentially interact with crab take place in...

Federal Fisheries Council Slated to Act on Shellfish Issues

8Feb

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Federal Fisheries Council Slated to Act on Shellfish Issues

Snow crab and Norton Sound red king crab issues are among the issues before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting from Feb. 6-13 at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle. Major issues and final action items include the snow crab rebuilding analysis, a presentation on Norton Sound red king crab, potential of extending a temporary rule to waive vessel use caps in the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s Area 4 in the Bering Sea and measures to reduce the likelihood of data loss in the pot gear catcher/processor fleet in erring Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. The meeting agenda posted online at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/2975 includes action memos and related documents, plus written comments submitted in advance of the council meet...

NSEDC Says ‘No’ to Buying Winter Red King Crab

18Jan

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NSEDC Says ‘No’ to Buying Winter Red King Crab

The Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. (NSEDC) will not purchase crab from the 2023 red king crab winter commercial fishery, in what the corporation has described as a difficult decision based on concerns for the long-term health of the fishery. While the stock appears to be rebounding, NSEDC believes a cautious approach to commercial harvests continues to be necessary to preserve the recovery, the corporation said in a statement issued in the second week of January. NSEDC is a private nonprofit corporation, with offices in Nome and Anchorage representing 15 member communities and nearly 8,500 people in the Bering Straits region of Northwestern Alaska. With the current mature crab stock being vital for reproduction, NSEDC officials said, a conservative harvest approach over the n...

NSEDC to Resume Purchases of Norton Sound Red King Crab

4May

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NSEDC to Resume Purchases of Norton Sound Red King Crab

Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. board members have voted to resume purchases of Norton Sound red king crab this summer. The decision comes after two years of decreased fishing pressure and the maturing of a new cohort of crab. The NSEDC board said data now indicates that crab populations have rebounded to a level that allows for responsible harvest. An Alaska Department of Fish and Game 2021 summer trawl survey, which provides essential data for establishing crab harvest guidelines, showed a significant pulse of legal sized male crab moving into the fishery and reports of productive winter subsistence fishing appears to support that finding. NSEDC Board Chairman Frank Katchatag said it had been very difficult to see their commercial harvesters sidelines for the last tw...

NPFMC Requests Expanded Discussion Paper on Bristol Bay Red King Crab Issues

13Apr

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NPFMC Requests Expanded Discussion Paper on Bristol Bay Red King Crab Issues

At their April meeting, federal fisheries managers voted for an extended discussion paper with an analysis of impacts of annual or seasonal closures to pelagic trawl, groundfish pot and longline gear in the Red King Crab Savings Area, plus tables for all sources of BBRKC mortality across federal waters. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council also requested that the paper go to its scientific and statistical committee for review and comment before it is presented at the October council session. The unanimous vote came after extensive testimony and discussion at the Anchorage meeting, a move that Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen called a step in the right direction, but that left out some important protections for crab and also was action not happeni...