SEATTLE — October 5, 2013 — Just 10 days before the lucrative king crab season is supposed to start, the government shutdown is preventing the required permits from being distributed to fishing vessels.
The permits designate catch quotas for each boat and are required for crews to begin legally fishing. Until then, boats remain docked and idle, which could cost the industry millions of dollars.
Many vessels are already at Dutch Harbor in Alaska, standing by.
Capt. Moore Dye of the Western Mariner fishing vessel said his crew was just preparing to leave the fisherman's terminal in Seattle. On Saturday morning, his crew worked on loading dozens of pots onto the boat.
"The king crab season is like the Super Bowl of crab fishing. It's short, it's a lot of money, really fast," Dye said.
But with the possible delay in the start of the season, challenges arise when trying to meet specific deadlines for shipments to Japan, the largest buyer.
"It'll more drive up the price for us to catch it. Because we have to sit around with the engines running, guys are sitting idle, so it could add up," he said.
Read the full story at KIRO TV