The Alaska Department of Fish & Game yesterday released the 2008-09 quotas for the state's crab fisheries, which open two weeks from tomorrow.
The 2008-09 Bristol Bay red king crab quota was set at 20.364 million pounds, down from 20.38 million pounds last season. The fishery runs from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15.
Expect more pressure on domestic supplies this season - U.S. king crab imports from Russia were down more than 50 percent through July, to less than 22 million pounds, as Russian authorities crack down on illegal fishing.
The Saint Matthew Island blue king crab and Pribilof red and blue king crab fisheries will remain closed this season. Each biomass fell shy of the minimum necessary to allow fishing; the Pribilof red and blue king crab biomass is at an 18-year low, at 1.6 million pounds.
The 2008-09 Bering Sea snow crab quota was set at 58.55 million pounds, down from 63.03 million pounds last season. But that's still up considerably from 2006's 36.57-million-pound quota. The harvest opens Oct. 15 and runs through May 15 in the eastern district and May 31 in the western district.
Finally, the 2008-09 Bering Sea tanner crab quota was set at 2.76 million pounds in the eastern district and 1.54 million pounds in the western district. That's down from last season's totals of 3.45 million pounds and 2.18 million pounds, respectively. The harvest runs from Oct. 15 to March 31.
