The Fisheries and Oceans Minister of Norway has announced the increase of the king crab quota for 2023. According to the Marine Research Institute's recommendation, the total male crab quota for next year is set at 2,375 tons, which is an increase of 530 tons compared to 2022. The female crab quota is set at 120 tons in 2023. Likewise, the minimum carapace length of 130 millimeters will be maintained for both males and females.
"We tax the king crab at a high level, but within a sustainable framework", said Norway Fisheries and Oceans Minister, Bjørnar Skjæran. "This is in line with the management objective of limiting the spread of king crab while at the same time ensuring a profitable catch. King crab is a product that fetches a very high price in the market, and increased catching of king crab will contribute to more value creation in the north", he added.
Good news for Norwegian crabbers, who last summer saw the price of king crab rise. Their Alaskan colleagues, who last month saw their harvest of Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab for the 2022/2023 season canceled, were not as fortunate. Since then, there has been a succession of news reports calling for a fishery disaster declaration.
The announced quotas apply to the quota-regulated area east of 26°E in Finnmark. In addition, the Fisheries and Oceans Ministrer of Norway has said that the Directorate of Fisheries has conducted a written consultation on the rules for the king crab fishery in 2023 and that the final rules and regulations for the king crab's catch in that area will be determined before the turn of the year.