Fall Alaska king crab harvest canceled (Tok: for sale, cost, legal)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Thanks for telling me what "fisherman knows;" I never would have known otherwise.

For anyone inclined to buy into the usual conspiracy noise, anyone in the North Pacific seafood industry knows that the Bering Sea is getting warmer in ways that the usual el nino/la nina fluctuations don't account for. This is not a drill.

Edit: the prices of snow crab won't be "spiking" this year as some sort of a "plot" because there won't be any.

Thank you.

I will add that we've now had 3 consecutive la nina years, which in the past usually means cooler north Pacific ocean waters.

Additionally, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation also plays a role in our ocean temperatures. I believe this index is also on a cold phase right now. Hmm. Where's the cool water?

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

Thank you.

I will add that we've now had 3 consecutive la nina years, which in the past usually means cooler north Pacific ocean waters.

Additionally, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation also plays a role in our ocean temperatures. I believe this index is also on a cold phase right now. Hmm. Where's the cool water?

That doesn't sound right. 2019 had the warmest Bering Sea temperatures on record. That likely had a big impact on snowcrab populations.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Northrick

That doesn't sound right. 2019 had the warmest Bering Sea temperatures on record. That likely had a big impact on snowcrab populations.

I think the La Ninas have been 2020, 2021 and now 2022. Not sure what the ocean temperatures have been during these three years. Again, there seems to be a bigger factor in play here besides ENSO.

[Scooby Snacks]

Originally Posted by Northrick

That doesn't sound right. 2019 had the warmest Bering Sea temperatures on record. That likely had a big impact on snowcrab populations.

This is correct. The naysayers who say this is a conspiracy to fire all the crab fishermen have no idea what they are talking about. I work all over the state, from the Aleutians to the Interior to the North Slope to the Southeast, and the majority of Native residents have told me repeatedly the state is getting warmer. I doubt other posters have traveled the state as much as I. The residents notice earlier thaws and later icing, and they are outside in the weather year round. There are fewer crab. If there are no crab to fish next year, the fishermen won't have jobs then or ever.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks

This is correct. The naysayers who say this is a conspiracy to fire all the crab fishermen have no idea what they are talking about. I work all over the state, from the Aleutians to the Interior to the North Slope to the Southeast, and the majority of Native residents have told me repeatedly the state is getting warmer. I doubt other posters have traveled the state as much as I. The residents notice earlier thaws and later icing, and they are outside in the weather year round. There are fewer crab. If there are no crab to fish next year, the fishermen won't have jobs then or ever.

You're not wrong about the changes in the weather/climate, but except for that one guy from the East Coast or somewhere who's probably never been to Alaska, I'm not seeing the "naysayers" that you're referencing. Residents, whether they're Native or not, get it.

Edit: it's possible to empathize with those who'll be negatively affected by the closures while understanding that there's no real choice here.

https://www.kuow.org/stories/it-s-si...s-crab-seasons

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Northrick

Learn something new every day. I've never heard of cherry/masou salmon before. Now I have.

I've heard you can get it in some West Coast Japanese restaurants, but Idk how common that is or even if it's true; they aren't very plentiful.

[Northrick]

Interesting read on the subject:


https://nautil.us/where-have-all-the...s-gone-248247/




"On the surface, the king crab tragedy rhymes with the recent collapse of the snow crab: Like in the early ’80s, a once-protected habitat was exposed and, after a few years of high crab quotas and spiking trawler bycatch, populations collapsed. And just as with king crab, NOAA officials have described the snow crab crash as a mysterious natural phenomenon."

[orbiter]

Here in Vancouver BC, we have been having a feast of king crabs this year for as low as C$168 or C$198 per live-crab, prepared in two ways - steamed and deep-fried. The photo attached was taken on June 01, and the restaurant claimed that those were "Alaskan" crabs!
Last night at another restaurant, the waiter brought two live-crabs on a tray to the table next to us; he told them one was "russian" and the other one was "alaskan" and the taste was discernible difference.

I thought the harvest has been cancelled, and the sanctions are still in place.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by orbiter

Here in Vancouver BC, we have been having a feast of king crabs this year for as low as C$168 or C$198 per live-crab, prepared in two ways - steamed and deep-fried. The photo attached was taken on June 01, and the restaurant claimed that those were "Alaskan" crabs!
Last night at another restaurant, the waiter brought two live-crabs on a tray to the table next to us; he told them one was "russian" and the other one was "alaskan" and the taste was discernible difference.

I thought the harvest has been cancelled, and the sanctions are still in place.

"as low as $198 per crab" That's crazy. My wife and I love crab but pretty much stopped buying it because of the price.


Deep frying crab should be against the law.


Not all of the Alaskan king crab fisheries were shut down. Just some of the bigger ones so there is still Alaskan king crab available to buy.



Russia exports their crab to China. China exports them to the US and I'm guessing Canada too. Sanctions can have limited effectiveness.



As for no difference in taste between Russian and Alaska crab, the crab don't know which side of the border they are on.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Northrick

"as low as $198 per crab" That's crazy. My wife and I love crab but pretty much stopped buying it because of the price.


Deep frying crab should be against the law.


Not all of the Alaskan king crab fisheries were shut down. Just some of the bigger ones so there is still Alaskan king crab available to buy.



Russia exports their crab to China. China exports them to the US and I'm guessing Canada too. Sanctions can have limited effectiveness.



As for no difference in taste between Russian and Alaska crab, the crab don't know which side of the border they are on.

This. Here's a link to info about AK king crab, starting off with red; the largest species. Also links to the other Pacific species harvested at a commercial level; blue and golden/brown. Red and blue kings have been the most commercially valuable over time compared to golden/brown which is the smallest of the three, so their fisheries have ended up becoming more restricted. As red and blue populations declined crabbers focused more on goldens. Can't recall ever hearing that all AK's king crab fisheries have ever been shut down entirely.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cf...dkingcrab.main

Other cold water Pacific crab that are havested commercially include snow/Tanner crab and Dungeness.

Agree...frying a king crab seems an unnecessary sacrilege !