Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Managers use last year’s fishery to set Southeast Alaska’s red king crab harvest goals

October 2, 2026 — Southeast Alaska’s first consecutive commercial red king crab fishery in decades opens Nov. 1.

Expectations for the season are underpinned by knowledge from last year’s fishery.

“I definitely think guys are excited. I think they know what to expect after last year,” said Adam Messmer, regional shellfish biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Messmer said the upcoming fishery will be managed much like last year, with some changes based on what fishermen and state managers saw that season.

“We got a little bit better handle on where crab was coming out of, and where crab wasn’t coming out of, and where there was effort,” Messmer said.

Read the full article at KFSK

ALASKA: Southeast gets rare back-to-back red king crab season

September 11, 2025 — Commercial fishermen in Southeast Alaska will get another shot at red king crab this fall, marking the region’s first back-to-back fisheries in more than two decades.

 The 2026/27 Southeast Alaska commercial red and blue king crab fishery will open as a competitive fishery at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, with a regionwide guideline harvest level of 213,076 pounds, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).

It will be the second consecutive year the Southeast fishery has opened following several years without one. The last time the region saw consecutive commercial red king crab fisheries was from 2001 through 2003.

“So, you know, 20-plus years since we’ve had fisheries back to back,” Adam Messmer, ADF&G regional shellfish biologist, told KFSK.

This year’s 213,076-pound guideline harvest level is slightly higher than last year’s harvest level. ADF&G developed its estimates by surveying seven bays and assessing the available crab stock. Messmer said this year’s consecutive opener is being supported by a population increase in several bays.

Readv the full article at National Fisherman