Tanner crab catch in Alaska. (Photo: ADFG)

Tanner crab season canceled in Alaska

UNITED STATES
Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 02:00 (GMT + 9)

The Alaska Board of Fisheries finally decided not to open commercial tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio) fishery in the Bering Sea this season, after the last attempt to allow a limited catch failed.

Unalaska Mayor Frank Kelty attended the board meeting in Kodiak, where members considered a proposal that would have let crabbers harvest 10 percent of mature male bairdi in the western district, KUCB informed

“The industry folks, coastal communities, and processors — we thought four million pounds out of a total 40 million pounds was a pretty minimal ask,” Kelty regretted.

However, concerns about conservation finally won out, and the USD 50 million fisheries will not take place this season.

Since the fall, when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) announced the stock had fallen short of the opening threshold by nearly two million pounds, the catch season became uncertain.

While the fishery supported strong harvests for the last two seasons, ADFG biologists say numbers are now down across the board: record-low females, fewer males, and almost no recruitment of juvenile crab.

The crab industry and the cities of Unalaska and St. Paul questioned the accuracy of the tanner crab population survey as well as the conservative management strategy, which relies on female biomass as the deciding factor.

"So we don’t have another harvestable surplus of male crab left on the ground because of the female threshold level," said Mayor Kelty, referring to the management strategy applied, in statements quoted by KUCB.

The official said there may be hope for next season, because the board has decided to review criticisms of the harvest strategy at a future meeting.

The Board could meet again this spring.

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