The commercial king crab harvest in Alaska's Norton Sound has ended, with the highest landings in 25 years and record ex-vessel prices, according to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
Norton Sound permit holders harvested 440,000 pounds of red king crab for a record payout of USD 2.4 million. That makes back-to-back record payouts for Norton Sound crab fishermen as this year’s ex-vessel value exceeded the previous record ex-vessel value of USD 2 million, set in 2011.
This year, Norton Sound red king crab prices paid to fishermen ranged from USD 5.25 to USD 5.60 per pound. Although the record harvest for the fishery was nearly 3 million pounds in 1979, the price paid then was only USD 0.75 per pound. This summer’s harvest was the highest since 1986.
The community development quota (CDQ) portion of the crab fishery remains open with slightly more than 17,000 pounds of red king crab remaining on the 34,910-pound quota. The combined open access and CDQ harvest this year will be about 475,000 pounds.
