The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has released its total allowable catch (TAC) figures for the state’s fall and winter crab fisheries, with higher levels set for several key commercial species.
The Bering Sea red king crab TAC was set at 1,048 metric tons (MT), or 2.3 million pounds, up from the 2023 TAC of 975 MT (2.2 million pounds), with the season set to open 15 October. The TAC closely followed the recommendations of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) crab plan team, delivered in September 2024.
The fishery had been closed for the previous two years due to low abundance. ADF&G’s data showed a slight increase in mature male biomass and better-than-expected female abundance, though both figures are still far from historical highs.
Some scientists remain concerned about the stock’s ability to recover, noting that recruitment has remained alarmingly low over the last decade, according to the Alaska Beacon. NOAA Fisheries scientists and the ADF&G have recommended continued tight management practices to protect the stock and implemented a 20 percent buffer on this year’s TAC.
After a similar two-year closure following a mysterious mortality event later blamed on a marine heatwave linked to climate change, the Bering Sea snow crab (opilio) fishery will open on 15 October with a TAC of 2,142 metric tons (4.7 million pounds). The Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s annual bottom-trawl survey found cooler water temperatures have returned to the Bering Sea, resulting in a minor recovery of the snow crab population, with the abundance of juveniles showing a potential boon for the fishery in five years’ time.
“After these tough closure years, we’re happy to see some of our vessels heading back to the crab grounds and communities participating in these fisheries again,” Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen told Fishermen’s News. “We’re feeling cautiously optimistic that the crab stock is starting to recover. But, our work isn’t done. It’s critical that we keep working for habitat protections, stock rebuilding, and the overall tools that the crab resource and crab industry need to build resilience, particularly as changing ocean conditions drive major shifts in our fisheries.”
Goen said the state’s crab fishermen are still reeling from the previous closures and a general down market for Alaska seafood.
“Some vessels have sold, some are fishing other fisheries like cod or tendering, and some are tied at the dock until fisheries improve,” she said.
In more good news for crabbers, the TAC for Alaska’s tanner snow crab, or bairdi crab, fishery has been set at 2,860 metric tons (6.3 million pounds), three times higher year over year. However, Alaska’s St. Mathew blue king crab and the Pribilof red and blue king crab fisheries will remain closed for the 2024-2025 season.
The Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, along with the Alaska Longline Fisherman’s Association, Salmon State, the Native Village of Marshall, the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Ocean Conservancy, and Oceana, recently issued a renewed call for the NPFMC to implement limits on midwater pollock trawling to protect seafloor habitats and crab and salmon populations. At its previous meeting, the NPFMC decided not to take action on the issue.
On 7 October, the groups issued a joint press release urging the NPFMC to limit the definition of what a midwater pollock trawl is, as a method to prevent the use of larger trawls in conservation areas where other types of fishing are not allowed. They cited a National Marine Fisheries Service analysis finding between 40 percent and 100 percent of the width of pelagic trawl gear fished in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea comes in regular contact with the seafloor during trawling.
“No matter what you call it, any net that drags the seafloor is bottom trawling and risks damaging sensitive habitats and marine life like king crabs and halibut,” Oceana Senior Scientists and Campaign Director Ben Enticknap said. “Management of pelagic trawling needs to change to reduce impacts to seafloor habitats and to require the gear is off bottom – 100 percent of the time – if fishing in Alaska’s habitat conservation areas.”
The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance has vociferously pushed back against claims Alaska’s pollock sector has a significant impact on crab and salmon populations. But, two inshore pollock vessels recently caught around 2,000 Chinook salmon as bycatch, resulting in the early closure of Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) pollock fishery.
