October 31, 2017 — BRISTOL BAY, Alaska — The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is off to a slow start compared to last year, according to Miranda Westphal, shellfish biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Unalaska. The season opened Oct. 15, and on Monday, just over a week into the fishery, only 1.5 million pounds had been landed. In the same time period last year, the boats had hauled in 6 million pounds.
The fishery’s performance, though, is not unexpected, and is in line with what biologists learned during pre-season surveys. She said 52 boats were fishing on Monday, and a total of 60 had registered. Part of the reason for the slow pace, she said, is that the king crab have moved eastward and into a smaller area of concentration, farther into Bristol Bay.
The average number of crab in a pot was 22, while the average number for the entire past season was 38, according to Fish and Game. The average red king crab weighs between six and seven pounds.