Alaskan king crab fishing - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide. Large numbers of king crab

King crab

King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a superfamily of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their meat, many species are widely caught and sold as food, the most common being the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus.King...

are also caught in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n and international waters

International waters

The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...

.

In 1980, at the peak of the king crab industry, Alaskan fisheries produced up to 200,000,000 pounds(90.9 million Kilos) of crab. However, by 1983, the total size of the catch had dropped by up to 90% in some places http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region4/shellfsh/crabs/1953-00.php. Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed, including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation. As a result the current season is very short. In the winter 2005–2006 season, 250 boats caught 14 million pounds (6.36 million kilos) of red king crab in four days.

Alaskan crab fishing is very dangerous, and the fatality rate among the fishermen is about 80 times the fatality rate of the average worker. It is suggested that, on average, one crab fisherman dies weekly during the seasons.

Types of commercially valuable king crab

In Alaska, three species of king crab

King crab

are caught commercially: the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus
Paralithodes camtschaticus
The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, is a species of king crab native to the Bering Sea. It grows to a leg span of , and is heavily targeted by fisheries.-Description:...

, found in Bristol Bay

Bristol Bay

Bristol Bay is the eastern-most arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km long and 290 km, wide at its mouth...

, Norton Sound

Norton Sound

Norton Sound is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km long and 200 km wide. The Yukon River delta forms a portion of the south shore and water from the Yukon influences this body of water...

, and the Kodiak Archipelago

Kodiak Archipelago

The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of main land mass of the state of Alaska , about by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. The largest island in the archipelago is Kodiak Island, the second largest island in the United States...

), blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus, St. Matthew Island

St. Matthew Island

St. Matthew Island is a remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, WNW of Nunivak Island. The island has a land area of , making it the 43rd largest island in the United States. Its most southerly point is Cape Upright which features cliff faces which exceed...

and the Pribilof Islands

Pribilof Islands

The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...

), 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

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. 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.

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.

Rationalization: derby vs. quota

After the 2005 season, the Alaskan crab industry transitioned from a derby style season to a quota system. This transition is known as rationalization. Under the old derby style, a large number of crews competed with each other to catch crab during a restrictive time window. Under the new Individual Fishing Quota

Individual fishing quota

Individual fishing quotas also known as "individual transferable quotas" are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch , typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC,...

(IFQ) system, established owners have been given quotas which they can fill at a more relaxed pace. In theory, it is intended to be safer, which was the main rationale for the change in the fishing rules. The transition to the quota system was also expected to increase the value of crab, by limiting the market of available crab. An influx of foreign crab negated some of these gains during the 2006 season.
The rationalization process put many crews out of work as the owners of many small boats found their assigned quotas too small to meet operating expenses; during the first season run under the IFQ system, the fleet shrank from over 250 boats to around 89 mostly larger boats with high quotas.

Equipment and process

Commercial fishing boats

Fishing vessel

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing....

are between 12 and 75 meters (40 to 250 feet) in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able to withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

. Each fishing boat sets its own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, often staying out for days or weeks at a time.

Fishermen use a box-shaped trap called a pot which consists of a steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

frame covered with a nylon mesh. Each pot weighs 600–800 pounds

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

(272-362 kilograms) and a ship may carry 150 to 300 pots. Fish, usually herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

or codfish, are placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the king crab reside. The pots are dropped in a straight line (known as a "string") for easier retrieval. Red and blue king crab

King crab

s can be found anywhere between the intertidal zone

Intertidal zone

The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...

and a depth of 100 fathom

Fathom

A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...

s (180 m, 600 ft). Golden king crabs

King crab

live in depths between 100 and 400 fathoms (180 and 720 m, 600 and 2400 ft). The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy

Buoy

A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...

which is later used for retrieval. After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor (typically one to two days for red and blue king crabs, longer for golden king crabs), the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic crane with a pulley on the end called a "block."

The pot is then brought on board the boat and the crew sorts the king crab. Any not meeting the regulation requirements are thrown back. The crab are stored live in a holding tank until the boat reaches shore, where they are sold. If the weather becomes too cold the live crabs may freeze and burst. If they are left in the tank for too long they will harm and possibly kill each other as they can be cannibalistic

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

.. Also if a crab dies in the hold it releases toxins which can kill other crabs. If the crew fails to remove the dead crabs, they can poison the entire tank and ruin the catch.

Deckhands are paid a percentage of the profits after the owner's share is taken into account. This can range from nothing to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the harvest. The so-called 'greenhorns' (deckhands in their first season of fishing) are paid a fixed sum of money.

Danger

Statistically, Alaskan crab fishing remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. In 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the job occupation with the highest fatality rate with 141.7 per 100,000, almost 75 percent higher than the rate for pilots, flight engineers and loggers, the next most hazardous occupations. However, Alaskan crab fishing specifically is even more dangerous with over 300 fatalities per 100,000.
Over 80% of these deaths are caused by drowning or hypothermia. The fishermen are also susceptible to crippling injuries caused by working with heavy machinery and gear.

Population decline

In 1980, at the peak of the king crab

King crab

industry, Alaskan fisheries produced 200 million pounds

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

of crab. However, by 1983 the total size of the catch had dropped to less than 10% of this size http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region4/shellfsh/crabs/1953-00.php. Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation. The slow harvest forced many fishermen to diversify and catch snow crabs (such as bairdi

Chionoecetes bairdi

Chionoecetes bairdi is a species of crab known alternatively as bairdi crab and tanner crab. C. bairdi is closely related to Chionoecetes opilio, and it can be difficult to distinguish C. opilio from C. bairdi. Both species are found in the Bering Sea and are sold commercially under the name "Snow...

and opilio) or cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

. In recent years strict regulations have been enforced in order to responsibly manage the populations and allow them to rebound. The red and blue king crab population has stayed relatively low in almost all areas except Southeast Alaska

Alaska

since 1983, forcing many fishermen to concentrate on the golden king crab

King crab

.

While red king crab are experiencing difficulties in the Bering Sea, they are not universally in trouble, and are considered an invasive species in some areas.

Foreign fisheries

King crab caught outside the United States is currently on the list of seafood that sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

-minded consumers should avoid; the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the former site of a sardine cannery on Cannery Row of the Pacific Ocean shoreline in Monterey, California. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million visitors. It holds thousands of plants and animals, representing 623 separate named species on display...

's Seafood Watch

Seafood Watch

Seafood Watch is one of the best known sustainable seafood advisory lists, and has influenced similar programs around the world. It is a program designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources...

Program lists king crab caught in the United States as a "good alternative."

The influx of crab from Russian fisheries has also created economic problems for U.S. crabbers. The amount of crab imported from Russia has increased from around 21 million pounds (9.5 million kilos) in 2004 to 37.5 million pounds (17 million kilos) in 2005 to more than 56 million pounds (25.45 million kilos) in 2007. Much of this foreign crab is reportedly caught and imported illegally and has led to a steady decline in the price of crab from $3.55 per pound in 2003 to $3.21 in 2004, $2.74 in 2005 and $2.30 in 2007 for Aleutian gold king crab, and $5.15 per pound in 2003 to $4.70 in 2004 to $4.52 in 2005 and $4.24 in 2007 for Bristol Bay red king crab.

In the media

Deadliest Catch
Deadliest Catch
Deadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...

is a documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

series aired by the Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

beginning in 2005. The show highlights the dangers of king crab fishing: freezing temperatures, turbulent seas, the pots that must be dragged up can weigh well over a ton when full, and, since the season is short — both because of regulations and the weather — fishermen often spend days at a time in very rough seas working long hours with little sleep.

External links

Norton Sound winter red king crab studies, 2006 / by Joyce Soong. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
The 2006 triennial Aleutian Islands golden king crab survey / by Leslie J. Watson. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
Norwegian-Americans in the King Crab Fishery / by Øyvind Malmin. Hosted by the Bergen Open Research Archive.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.