After two years of closures, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced the reopening of the Bristol Bay red king crab season. The stock is back to levels that allow for a small, sustainable harvest at 2.15 million pounds (975 metric tonnes), just below the amount when it was last open in 2020 at 2.6 million pounds (1,179 metric tonnes), so Alaskan crabbers can get back to work.
The 2023/24 Bristol Bay red fishery will open on October 15, 2023, at 12:00 noon, and close at 11:59 pm, January 15, 2024. Good news for a fleet that, as stated by Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC) has been "hit hard by closures and low quotas in recent years."
"It's a start in the right direction. I'm glad it's opening. It will help pay some bills and most of all, it will help our crew out," said Glenn Casto, long-time crabber and captain of the FV Pinnacle. Other crabbers spoke in the same vein. Oystein Lone, captain and owner of the FV Confidence and FV Pacific Mariner, said, "It's nice that we get to put gear in the water and go fishing again. It's a needed lifeline for us to keep our businesses afloat. It also keeps our crew making a wage to support their families."
The satisfaction of the crabbers has, however, some buts. "The reopening of the Bering Sea king crab fishery should bring some much-needed financial relief to the vessel owners and crew of the industry, but it also highlights the impacts of the previous two years of closures. The size of the fleet participating will be smaller due to financial constraints," noted Gabriel Prout, a third-generation Alaska fisherman aboard the FV Silver Spray.
"The impacts the fleet and the stock continue to face highlights the need for state and federal managers to implement better management strategies to help protect the health of the crab population and those that rely on it. We've got to take steps to build resilience in this fishery for the crab, the fishermen, and the communities," he continued.
Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers has created a resilient fishery action plan as a roadmap for managers, scientists, and industry to increase the resilience of this fishery. The trade association that advocates for crab fishermen has long been asking for leadership on crab and habitat conservation.
Alaskan crabbers say they are eager to get back on the water to do what they love, but also that they want to do it with minimal impact. "Crab fishermen want to make sure the crab resource is sustainable for generations to come," said Jamie Goen, ABSC Executive Director. "They are tracking closely the science around the health of crab stocks and want to help crab continue to rebound. We're adding extra measures this season during our directed pot fishery for crab to reduce our interactions with crab. We're increasing communication with the fleet on best handling practices, clean fishing areas, and opportunities to share gear," she added.
However, they also stress the need for managers and scientists to become involved in the protection of the Bristol Bay red king crab. "Hopefully, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will make some moves to further protect the Red King Crab Savings Area in the near future to help king crab stocks continue to rebound," said captain Oystein Lone. "We need to make sure midwater trawling for pollock stays out of that area if it is being fished on the bottom hurting crab stocks and disturbing habitat or use enforceable technology to keep the gear truly midwater."
This is not the first time Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers have talked about a fishery management plan to make not only this but all fisheries sustainable and resilient. Another important fishery for the Alaska crab fleet, Bering Sea snow crab is closed again this season, and the outlook remains poor. "As the main crab stock that brings revenue to the fleet, this means there will be continued hard times ahead for much of the crab industry," said ABSC release.
As mentioned, this reopening of the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is a way to bring economic relief to the fleet, hard hit by closures in recent years. This takes on more relevance considering that, as Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers reported, fishermen are still awaiting federal payments for the 2019, 2021, and 2022 fishing disasters that were approved in December of last year.
