Dungeness season open for fall fishery

Dungeness crab fishing is back on for a full fall season that began Wednesday and extends through Nov. 30, although Alaska Department of Fish and Game harvest projections show that Southeast Alaska fishermen might not achieve the harvest threshold for a full season.

The commercial Dungeness fishery opened for 55 days this summer, beginning June 15 and closing Aug. 9, six days earlier than usual.

Across Southeast, 162 Dungeness fishery permit-holders this summer harvested 567,839 crab totaling 1,180,494 pounds. Participation and harvest were relatively low, but fishermen earned a good average p...