10 Cast Net: Alaskan Crab Fleet

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Alaskan Crab Fleet

The Bering Sea snow crab fishery is picking up steam earlier than usual as the fleet scrambles to get the catch before rapidly encroaching sea ice shuts them down. About 25 boats are out on the water so far, soon to be joined by 60 or so more as the forecast calls for continued frigid weather and high winds. Although the fishery opens by regulation Oct. 15, most crabbers usually wait until mid-January to begin dropping pots. The snow crab catch was boosted 64 percent this season to nearly 90 million pounds. Boats left without settling on a price, and the increased supply is having a downward press on the market. “The problem we have in the snow crab market is that before the catch share program began in 2005, the fishery started on the 15th of January, and so that is when the market formed and negotiations were typically done about a week before. Although the fishery has been starting earlier and earlier, the negotiations are still taking place at the traditional time period. There’s negotiations taking place between the packers and the Japanese and domestic buyers as we speak,” said Jake Jacobsen, director of the Inter-Cooperative Exchange, which represents a majority of the crab fleet.