10 Cast Net: Alaskan Crab Fishing Boats

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Alaskan Crab Fishing Boats

In Alaska, three species of king crab are caught commercially: the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus, found in Bristol Bay, Norton Sound, and the Kodiak Archipelago), blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus, St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands), and golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus, Aleutian Islands). The red king crab is the most prized of the three for its meat. A fourth variety of king crab, the scarlet king crab (Lithodes couesi), is too small and rare to be commercially viable, even though its meat is considered sweet and tasty.[6] Specific size requirements must be met: only certain types of king crab are legal at different times of the year and only males can be kept. [edit]Fishing season The most popular crab-fishing months occur between October and January. The allocated time for a season continued to shrink – at one point a red crab season was only four days long. After 2005, each boat was given a quota based on their catch from previous years and how many crabs are available to catch. The fleet went from 251 boats down to 89. Currently the seasons last from two to four weeks.