According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, there will be a Tanner crab harvest in the Eastern Aleutians. This is the first season since 2005.
While this is great news for the fishery it will only open Makushin/Skan Bay on the western side Unalaska Island.
The remaining two sections, Unalaska/Kalekta Bay or Akutan, will remain closed.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game performs an annual bottom trawl survey of Tanner crab in Eastern Aleutian District every year. The commercial Tanner crab fishing license can only be opened if the stock size threshold is met or exceeded by mature Tanner crabs.
Even though the Akutan Sections or Unalaska/Kalekta Bay sections didn’t meet those thresholds, Makushin/Skan Bay did. This was the first time Makushin/Skan Bay has done so since 2018.
Ethan Nichols, the assistant area management biologist in shellfish at Dutch Harbor Fish and Game, is Ethan Nichols. He said that the opening was a positive sign.
“We are very excited about Makushin and the fishery this year because we’re seeing more legal lobster than we have in quite some time. Nichols stated that they feel this year’s removal was conservative.
This refers to the overall harvest level, or how many crabs people can catch.
This year’s level is 49,000 pounds. It is the second highest since 2004 when the Makushin section was established.
The fishery will open at noon on January 15, 2023.
