Bristol Bay Red King Crab Season Will Open with 6.6 Million pounds, 22% Less than Last Year
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Peggy Parker - October 4, 2017
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will open this year, with a reduced catch of 6.601 million pounds, 22 percent less than last year, according to ADF&G.
The season opens October 15, 2017 and will close January 15, 2018.
The 2017/18 TAC is apportioned between the IFQ sector for 5,940,900 pounds, and the Community Development Quota (CDQ) sector for 660,000 pounds. The total is 6,601,000 pounds.
Female king crab abundance is over the harvest strategy threshold of 8.4 million crab and the 2017 effective spawning biomass (ESB) of 39.75 mlbs is over the threshold of 14.5 mlbs required for a fishery opening. The 2017 ESB estimate is less than 55 million pounds but greater than 34.75 million pounds, so a 12.5% exploitation rate is applied to the estimated mature male abundance of 7.82 million crab.
This year’s TAC compares to last year’s...
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