10 Cast Net: September 2012

Alaska Crab Boats

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the fall months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide. Large numbers of king crab are also caught in Russian and international waters. In 1980, at the peak of the king crab industry, Alaskan fisheries produced up to 200,000,000 lb (91,000,000 kg) of crab. However, by 1983, the total size of the catch had dropped by up to 90% in some places.[2] Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed, including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation.[3] As a result the current season is very short and in the 2010 season only 24,000,000 lb (11,000,000 kg) of red king crab were "landed".

Alaska Crab Boats

Alaska Crab Boat For Sale

King crab stocks in the Bering Sea have supported a valuable commercial fishery for more than 75 years, and nearly 50 years for snow crab. Foreign owned vessels fished in Alaska's waters without restriction until the Magnuson-Stevens Act created a 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone. The Act mandated the phase-out of foreign vessels and led to the development of U.S. Fishery Management Plans that formed the foundation for sustainable fisheries. The U.S. fleet has operated under harvest limits for 30 years and only adult males are retained for sale. Female and juvenile crab are carefully released in order to maintain the productivity of the stock. Since the 1970s all pots in Alaska's crab fisheries have used biodegradable cotton thread in escape panels. This cotton thread degrades within 30 days to allow for all crab to escape.The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fleet has funded an onboard fisheries observer monitoring program since 1988. Observers are an important element of fisheries research as they document the catch rates and sizes of crab harvested.

Alaska Crab Boat For Sale

Alaska Crab

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the fall months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide. Large numbers of king crab are also caught in Russian and international waters. in 1980, at the peak of the king crab industry, Alaskan fisheries produced up to 200,000,000 lb (91,000,000 kg) of crab. However, by 1983, the total size of the catch had dropped by up to 90% in some places.[2] Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed, including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation.[3] As a result the current season is very short and in the 2010 season only 24,000,000 lb (11,000,000 kg) of red king crab were "landed

Alaska Crab

Alaska Commercial Salmon Fishing

Commercial fishing is a major industry in Alaska, and has been for hundreds of years. Alaska Natives have been harvesting salmon and many other types of fish since the early 17th century. Russians came to Alaska to harvest its abundance of sealife, as well as Japanese and other Asian cultures.While the work-related fatality rate for commercial fishermen in Alaska is still very high, it does appear to be decreasing: since 1990, there has been a 51 percent decline in the annual fatality rate. The successes in commercial fishing are due in part to the U.S. Coast Guard implementing new safety requirements in the early 1990s.