Introduced to Norwegian waters by Russian scientists in the 1960s, the red king or “kamtsjatka” crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is an animal that is coveted and cursed with near equal fervor by the country’s small population.
Global demand for the delicacy is high and it has proved a lucrative harvest for Norwegian fishermen in the Finnmark region over the last decade. However, the crabs, which grow to sizes of 8 kilograms with shield widths of 50 centimeters, have decimated sea beds and caused major problems for the country’s other fishing sectors, including the destruction of nets.
Introducing a species to a foreign ecosystem can cause problems, said Svein Ove Haugland, deputy managing director of Norges Rafisklag, one of six Norwegian fishermen-owned sales organizations. “The red king crab is complicated when it comes to management, and it raises special questions when it comes to sustainability and documentation.”
Part of the problem has come in proving the sustainability of the product. Three-quarters of Norway’s wild catch (all species) is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified — the highest proportion in the world. But certification of its king crab remains a pipe dream.
According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, Alaska’s red king crab is considered “a good alternative” but Norway’s product is ranked as “avoid” due to concerns about overfishing and illegal landings. This has tainted the perception of the fishery.
Haugland puts the Norwegian fishery on the same level of sustainability as Alaska’s and feels that this may be best conveyed through a Norwegian label, along the same lines as those introduced in Alaska and Iceland.
In the meantime, Norwegian authorities have introduced a two-level stock management system, whereby the eastern part of the fishery is regulated, complete with a total quota and each vessel taking part is limited on how much crab it can catch. But because officials want to limit the distribution of the crab to the west, there is a free fishery in place west of the Nordkapp (North Cape) region.
“It seems this strategy is working because the catch in the free fishing sector has reduced in the last two or three years,” said Haugland. And yet he conceded there are many Norwegians and some environmental groups who still believe stocks should be eliminated entirely through intense fishing because of the destructive nature of the species.
Red king crab didn’t become a commercial fishery in Norway until 1994, when a quota of 11,000 crabs was set. The total catch peaked in 2009 with a record 5,600 metric tons (MT) that generated a total firsthand value of NOK 126 million (USD 22.3 million, EUR 17.2 million).
However, the reduction in landings in the free fishery has seen the total catch plummet, while the quota in the eastern fishery, which now accounts for more than 75 percent of the total, was down slightly to 1,100 MT in 2012 and is expected to decline further this year.
Fishermen currently earn between NOK 60 (USD 10.58, EUR 8.18) and NOK 70 (USD 12.34, EUR 9.56) per kg, and the wholesale price is typically around five times as much. These prices are expected to rise in line with the reduced supply.
Because of the expensive nature of the product, most of the processing in Finnmark takes place following receipt of customer specifications. Main products comprise raw sections for the Japanese market and cooked sections for Europe, as well as well as whole (raw and cooked) for both markets. But suppliers believe exports of live animals to China will follow an upward trajectory in the next few years and this should see prices rise further.
