10 Cast Net: Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers

Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers

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.