September 20, 2024 — After the marine heat wave that hit the Bering Sea for years, billions of snow crabs disappeared in 2021. The following year, the state decided to close the fishery, which regularly has an annual harvest worth more than $200 million. According to a recent study, the long-term outlook for the fishery remains gleam, but with the water cooling, the younger crab population is growing once more.
Snow crabs are known to do better in non-subarctic climates. Their ideal water temperature varies depending on their stage of development. Still, they typically thrive in colder waters while they are immature and migrate into slightly warmer habitats as they mature. They can be found in the northeastern Atlantic, the Barents Sea, and the eastern Bering Sea, which is as south as the species will range in the North Pacific.
The study shared that the abrupt collapse of the Bering Sea snow crab stock can be explained by rapid borealization (the transition from an arctic physical state to subarctic), which is less than 98% likely to have been human induced. While strong Arctic conditions are now expected in only 8% of years to come, researchers have told stakeholders to accelerate adaptation planning for the complete loss of Arctic characteristics in the traditional fishing grounds.