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[Alaska] Alaska cancels snow crab season for first time after population collapses

Yeah, who needs to pay mortgages, utilities, insurance, eat, etc.
If they make $70K in just a few months a year and don't have any savings I don't know what to tell you.
 
If they make $70K in just a few months a year and don't have any savings I don't know what to tell you.
They don’t get PTO or vacation time, they don’t get any benefits (so full cost for health, dental, vision insurance), they are likely also independent contractors, not “employees” so that’s gross income - not after taxes.

Last I checked once you take all that into consideration - they aren’t living rich.

I’m not understanding your remarks, at all…as though they’re rich or something and can go without a year of income.


Even if the deckhands work 2 seasons in a year…you’re talking about taking an annual income from gross of 140K down to 70K.

Add in that most are a head of a family where they might be the only wage earner and/or that a fishery shut down doesn’t just impact the boats, it impacts all the affiliated businesses which means other people losing wages also, potentially the wives, etc of the fisherman.
 
They don’t get PTO or vacation time, they don’t get any benefits (so full cost for health, dental, vision insurance), they are likely also independent contractors, not “employees” so that’s gross income - not after taxes.

Last I checked once you take all that into consideration - they aren’t living rich.

I’m not understanding your remarks, at all…as though they’re rich or something and can go without a year of income.


Even if the deckhands work 2 seasons in a year…you’re talking about taking an annual income from gross of 140K down to 70K.

Add in that most are a head of a family where they might be the only wage earner and/or that a fishery shut down doesn’t just impact the boats, it impacts all the affiliated businesses which means other people losing wages also, potentially the wives, etc of the fisherman.

While the fishermen may indeed seem to make quite a decent wage you have to factor in the fact they are self employed with all the extra expenses that brings and the pure danger money of working in one of the worlds most dangerous industries where you can't get instant access to an ambulance.

If the fishermen were all raking it in they would have a very low turnover but the job is extremely tough and the conditions are brutal.
 
The earth is not reacting oddly. The lack of crab is the result of over fishing.

No, not that sudden a crash. This crash is caused by a warming event that forces marine life to behave in ways it normally wouldn't.
 
This is a huge decline that numbers in the billions of crabs.
That's not simply overfishing.

It is also just one fishery. Snow crabs are available elsewhere in Alaska, just not in the Bering Sea. Just as king crab is available outside of Bristol Bay (which is also closed during the 2022/2023 season). The Guardian is not exactly a credible source. Crab are available in numerous fisheries throughout Alaska, and they continue to be fished both commercially and privately. For example, I get my dungeness, snow, and king crab from Kachemak Bay, just off the coast of near Homer.

It is commonplace in Alaska for the ADF&G to shutdown one or more fisheries for a season or two in order to build back the numbers. They are always counting the various species, and only open those fisheries when the numbers support fishing. Sometimes commercial fisherman are prohibited from fishing in a fishery, while private citizens are not. Other times everyone is prohibited from fishing in those fisheries. The exact opposite has also happened, where the ADF&G has opened fisheries, raising the limits and allowing dip-net fishing for salmon when their returning numbers become too great for a river to handle.

While it is the first time the Bering Sea snow crab season has been closed in Alaska, it is not that big of a deal as far as commercial fishing is concerned. The fisherman in Dutch Harbor will simply have to find another fishery where they can harvest their snow crab. That will cost them more fuel and time.
 
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Scientists have expressed suspicion that warmer temperatures in recent years have been responsible. Alaska’s summers and oceans have become warmer, scientists say, resulting in a significantly higher seasonal loss of sea ice. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency said in a recent report that rising temperatures may have forced species such as snow crabs further north or into deeper seas.

“In the Bering Sea, Alaska pollock, snow crab, and Pacific halibut have generally shifted away from the coast since the early 1980s,” the EPA wrote. “They have also moved northward by an average of 19 miles.”

A December 2020 study co-written by Alaska fishing officials also found that the decrease in the geographical size of snow crab habitats could be linked to warming.
Over fishing and over crabbing have been issues for decades... it is only reasonable that crabbing caught up with us... as fishing did years ago.
 
Climate change and overfishing are real things. Fake crab meat isn't that bad.
Going without crab is better than fake crab meat, which is shit. ;)
 
Over fishing and over crabbing have been issues for decades... it is only reasonable that crabbing caught up with us... as fishing did years ago.
That isn't the issue in Alaska. Nobody is over fishing anything. In fact, salmon populations have increased by more than five times since Statehood. Crab, of all varieties, are still being caught in Alaska. Just not snow crab in the Bering Sea this coming season, or king crab in Bristol Bay. Both fisheries are closed for those species of crab, but there are several other crab fisheries available.
 
As I was reviewing the past history of crab fishing in the various fisheries of Alaska I encountered something I never knew before. That the northern Cook Inlet fishery (the closest crab fishery to where I live) once included king crab, but it has been closed to king crab fishing since 1989. I first arrived in Alaska in 1991, which may explain why I didn't know. It also explains why I have to drive all the way to Kachemak Bay (220 miles away) in order to catch king crab.

Snow crab season was also closed in the Cook Inlet fishery in 1989 and 1990, then closed again from 2003 until 2007, then closed again from 2012 until 2016. Snow crab is currently available in the Cook Inlet fishery, but that could change tomorrow.

Source:
Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound Area Management Report for Tanner and King Crab Fisheries through 2019 - Fishery Management Report No. 20-10, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Divisions of Sport Fish and Commercial Fisheries, 2020 [PDF].
 
Fake crab meat is pollack, which is also in decline.
Alaska Pollock, or Walleye Pollock, and Atlantic Pollock are two very different fish. Atlantic Pollock is better than Alaska Pollock due to its stronger flavor and firmer texture. Atlantic Pollock provides a higher percentage of protein, minerals and B vitamins than Alaskan Pollock. Atlantic Pollock contains 0.50 grams of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids while Alaskan Pollock has 0.28 grams per 4 ounce serving. If you want a decent tasting piece of cod in Alaska, then Ling Cod or Red Irish Lords are the way to go. It is a very ugly fish, but damn tasty.
Irish Lord.jpg
Red Irish Lord

The only use for Alaska pollock that I have found was as bait for halibut.
 
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Alaska Pollock, or Walleye Pollock, and Atlantic Pollock are two very different fish. Atlantic Pollock is better than Alaska Pollock due to its stronger flavor and firmer texture. Atlantic Pollock provides a higher percentage of protein, minerals and B vitamins than Alaskan Pollock. Atlantic Pollock contains 0.50 grams of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids while Alaskan Pollock has 0.28 grams. If you want a decent tasting piece of cod in Alaska, then Ling Cod or Red Irish Lords are the way to go. It is a very ugly fish, but damn tasty.
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Red Irish Lord

The only use for Alaska pollock that I have found was as bait for halibut.
Ok.

Nevertheless, fake crab is made out of Alaskan pollock..

The vast majority of fish sticks, frozen breaded fish filets. Fish and chips, etc are also Alaskan pollack.
 
Ok.

Nevertheless, fake crab is made out of Alaskan pollock..

The vast majority of fish sticks, frozen breaded fish filets. Fish and chips, etc are also Alaskan pollack.
We also sell the overwhelming majority of the Pink, a.k.a. Humpback, salmon to the lower-48 in cans. Nobody buys Pinks in Alaska, and they are only caught in the ocean. Nobody fishes for them in rivers, unless they want to use them for fertilizer or to feed their dogs. Lower-48ers will eat any sort of trash fish if you put the right packaging on it.
 
We also sell the overwhelming majority of the Pink, a.k.a. Humpback, salmon to the lower-48 in cans. Nobody buys Pinks in Alaska, and they are only caught in the ocean. Nobody fishes for them in rivers, unless they want to use them for fertilizer or to feed their dogs. Lower-48ers will eat any sort of trash fish if you put the right packaging on it.

It's amazing how little you know about your own state.

Thanks for this fart of a post.

Maybe you could move to New Mexico and tell us how little you know about New Mexico.
 
As if you had a clue. :rolleyes:

The truth bomb posts you think you're dropping are actually enormous broccoli farts, and they're destroying the upholstery of your La-Z-Boy and making life miserable for your cat, who never had the option of escaping the misery of Alaska.
 
Alaska will cancel the upcoming winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea for the first time, and bar fishers from catching king crabs in the Bristol Bay for a second consecutive year, because of a sharp decline in their estimated population.


A short history of Alaska fisheries boom, bust, and ever increasing commercial fishing.
While warming seas may have something to do with the snow crab collapse that seems never to have triggered concern about continuing to take ever increasing amounts of snow crab.

The reaction to the crab fishery collapse is similar to the reaction of the west to the reduced yearly snow and rainfall where nobody is talking about the ever increasing demand for water from expanding farmland and high rate of population growth as major factors in the drawdown of stored water.

Nature is causing the problem not man.
 
The only use for Alaska pollock that I have found was as bait for halibut.
In 2021, commercial landings of Alaska pollock from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska totaled 3.2 billion pounds. Pollock is the major food fish west of the Rockies.
 
In 2021, commercial landings of Alaska pollock from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska totaled 3.2 billion pounds. Pollock is the major food fish west of the Rockies.
Alaskan Pollock is much wider spread that just the Berring Sea. I catch them in Katchemak Bay when I go fishing for halibut. There can also be found in Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, and throughout the Gulf of Alaska. Like I said, lower-48ers will eat any sort of trash fish if the packaging is right.
 
ALASKA CANCELS SNOW CRAB SEASON FOR THE 1ST TIME AFTER POPULATION COLLAPS
First I feel deep concern for all the folks who depend directly upon the fishing for their living and then I have deep concern for the secondary businesses that need the fleets out fishing.

I just don't know what is going on but it is obvious, or should be, to everyone that the earth is reacting oddly for some reason and climate change influenced by men should not be ruled out entirely. But that I will leave to the climate change threads.
In 2016 the snow crab catch was 7,354,109
In 2017 the snow crab catch was kept confidential but it seems like it might have been very very high.
In 2018 the snow crab catch was 3,136, 219
In 2019 the snow crab catch was 3,818,250
In 2019 NOAA reported on a drastic decline in the juvenile population of snow crab
In 2020 the total catch of snow crab was 4,212,590 pounds.
In 2021 the total catch of all crabs was reduced to 12,600,000 pounds by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Crabbers pressed the Council to open additional fishing areas to the north for crabbing.
In 2022 the snow crab season was canceled

Why is the huge harvest of 2016 and probably 2017, subsequent dwindling of catches, the ignoring of NOAA's warning and the increased catch after warning not being discussed in the collapse of the snow crab population
 
In 2016 the snow crab catch was 7,354,109
In 2017 the snow crab catch was kept confidential but it seems like it might have been very very high.
In 2018 the snow crab catch was 3,136, 219
In 2019 the snow crab catch was 3,818,250
In 2019 NOAA reported on a drastic decline in the juvenile population of snow crab
In 2020 the total catch of snow crab was 4,212,590 pounds.
In 2021 the total catch of all crabs was reduced to 12,600,000 pounds by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Crabbers pressed the Council to open additional fishing areas to the north for crabbing.
In 2022 the snow crab season was canceled

Why is the huge harvest of 2016 and probably 2017, subsequent dwindling of catches, the ignoring of NOAA's warning and the increased catch after warning not being discussed in the collapse of the snow crab population
You are also talking about several different fisheries. It isn't like snow crab fishing was shut down throughout Alaska, just in certain fisheries. For example, you cannot catch snow crab in the Bering Sea fishery, or king crab in the Bristol Bay fishery this coming season. However, you can fish for snow crab in the Prince William Sound fishery, or in one of the many fisheries in Alaska's panhandle. There are literally dozens of fisheries throughout Alaska. Keep in mind that Alaska has more coastline than all the other States combined. When talking about closing down fishing for a species, it is important to know which fishery you are talking about, because it doesn't apply to the entire State.

NOAA does not establish the crab limits, and they are not the only one conducting fishery studies. Alaska's Department of Fish & Game conduct their own fishery studies and base their limits each season on those studies, not based on anything NOAA does or doesn't do. ADF&G pretty much does nothing else but count various species in various areas. When the numbers warrant it, the ADF&G will allow fishing or hunting of that species in that area. When those numbers are too low, they will not allow fishing or hunting of that species in that area. They do this every year.

Even while the season is occurring, they will still be counting. Even if it is mid-season, if there is a lack of numbers they will shut down a fishery with only a day's notice. Hunting and fishing regulations can change daily in Alaska.
 
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The fact of the matter is China is devastating seafood production by overfishing everywhere they can, with zero regard for the consequences, and no one is doing a damn thing about it.
 
Yeah, who needs to pay mortgages, utilities, insurance, eat, etc.

If they go out and completely destroy the crab population they won't have an income for possibly decades rather than just stutting down for a year or two.
 
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