March 18, 2022 — The Alaska Board of Fisheries has voted down a proposal that would have allowed for a limited harvest of red king crab in Southeast Alaska, where the fishery hasn’t been open for years.
The proposal was supported by both the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and fishermen.
Over the last decade, there’s been just one red king crab fishery in Southeast. That’s because the state’s estimations of crab stocks have repeatedly fallen short of the 200,000 pounds threshold. That number comes from surveys the state conducts in some areas.
The board was asked to consider a proposal that would create equal crab quota shares when the state’s harvest levels were too low for a regular competitive fishery, similar to equal share fisheries for sablefish in the region.
State managers and industry groups wrote the proposal together over several meetings.