2021 Eastern Bering Sea Continental Shelf Trawl Survey Results for Commercial Crab Species

The eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey has been conducted by the NOAA Fisheries annually since 1975. The survey was cancelled in 2020 due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed at full effort in 2021. The purpose of this survey is to collect data on the distribution and abundance of crab, groundfish, and other benthic resources in the eastern Bering Sea. These data are used to estimate population abundance and biomass for the management of commercially important species. In 2021, 375 total stations sampled on the eastern Bering Sea shelf from 31 May to 22 July. In early June, relatively cold bottom temperatures extending into Bristol Bay resulted in the need to resample 20 stations in August due to temperature effects on the red king crab reproductive cycle. This document includes results for the full 1975-2021 time series.