Bristol Bay red king crab fishery to be closed
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September 16, 2021
Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries 2021
Abundance (millions) by size and shell of condition of male snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) using 1 mm width classes of all districts combined, 2015-2021
Alaska's Bering Sea crabbers are reeling from the devastating news that all major crab stocks are down substantially, based on summer survey results, and the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will be closed for the first time in over 25 years.
That stock has been on a steady decline for several years and the 2020 harvest dwindled to just 2.6 million pounds.
Most shocking was the drastic turn-around for snow crab stocks, which in 2018 showed a 60% boost in market sized male crabs (the only ones retained for sale) and nearly the same for females. That year's survey was documented as "one of the...
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