Friday’s emergency request by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to close critical habitat for Bristol Bay red-king crab to commercial fishing was denied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is after the petition by Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers in September to close the red king crab savings area , which was being closed during historically low stock levels.
The nonprofit represents independent crab harvesters and requested that all fishing gear be banned from the grounds beginning January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023.
Due to low population, the Bristol Bay red-king crab fishery was closed to fishing for two year. Since more than a decade, biologists have witnessed a decline in both recruitment and stock. Although it is not clear exactly what caused the crash, some theories suggest that climate change and warmer ocean conditions could be partly to blame.
The savings area was created in 1996. It is now permanently closed to bottom-trawling. However, it is still open to pelagic trawlers, midwater trawlers, and pot fishing. However, bottom trawling is permitted in a section of the savings area, known as the savings subarea. This is when Bristol Bay red-king crab is not allowed to be directed fishing.
Jamie Goen serves as the executive director for Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. In , a letter she addressed to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council December, Goen argued that bottom trawling and pelagic trawling have similar impacts on the seafloor. She asked council members to close the king crab savings zones for approximately 180 days each year, when crab stocks tend to be most vulnerable.
The council stated the closure could provide habitat benefits through decreased bottom contact by trawl equipment and possibly reduce Bristol Bay red-king crab mortality,” but they claim those effects are uncertain. They also rely on assumptions that closures would force fleets to move into areas that have less impact on crab stocks. According to the council, an analysis has shown that closures could have a negative impact on other species like salmon and halibut.
The agency decided not to recommend the emergency action, despite Goen’s comments and more than 25 others.
On Jan. 20, NOAA Fisheries stated that they had denied the petition, and would not close the savings zones. They argued that the emergency regulations would not address the declining stock or trends in mature female crab stocks. They claimed that taking emergency action and changing rulesmaking processes is not worth it.
Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers says that harvesters are “dismayed” and “deeply disappointed” that NOAA Fisheries has denied protections to dwindling crab stocks, the same day as they opened pollock fisheries with higher harvest limits.
The council is looking at alternatives to the emergency actions, such as implementing an annual savings area closure and subareas for all commercial groundfish fishing gears. This would be done through a normal rulemaking process. It would not include nonpelagic trawling.
NOAA is working with the Bering Sea Snow crab and King crab closures to provide quick funding assistance.
This kind of funding was historically difficult to obtain for fishermen because it took years.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy estimates a loss of over $287 million to red king crab and Bering sea snow crab fisheries in the past two years.
