2018 Alaska Fisheries Economic Status of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab
May 21, 2018
This report presents information on economic activity in commercial crab fisheries currently managed under the Federal Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering Sea and Aleutian and Islands King and Tanner Crab (BSAI crab), with attention to the subset of fisheries included in the Crab Rationalization (CR) Program. Statistics on harvesting and processing activity; effort; revenue; labor employment and compensation; operational costs; and quota ownership, usage and disposition among participants in the fisheries are provided. Additionally, this report provides a summary of BSAI crab-related research being undertaken by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Program (ESSRP) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).
The Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) crab fisheries managed under the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Fishery Management Plan (FMP) are currently (as of calendar year 2018) prosecuted by an active fleet of 106 catcher vessels and two catcher processors, and landed and processed at 11 processing facilities throughout the region. Of the 10 crab stocks and 11 fisheries managed under the FMP1, seven fisheries were open to targeted fishing during 2018. After closure for the 2010/11 through 2012/13 seasons, the Bering Sea Tanner (BST) crab fisheries opened for targeted fishing for 2013/14 through 2015/16 seasons, but were subsequently closed for the 2016/17 season; the Western Bering Sea Tanner (WBT) crab fishery opened for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.2 Pribilof Islands red and blue king, and Western Aleutian red king crab stocks are currently designated overfished, as detailed in the assessments for these stocks. The Saint Matthew blue king (SMB) crab fishery was closed for the 2013/14 season under the State of Alaska’s management strategy, reopened for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons; the fishery has been closed for 2016/17 through 2018/19 seasons.
Additional Resources
- Shellfish Assessment Program
- Shellfish Assessment Program Resources
- Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
- North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
- 1998-2012 North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
- Economic Status Reports for the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands
- Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
- Ecosystem Research in Alaska