October 28, 2022 — The closing of the Bering Sea snow and red king crab fisheries poses a $1 billion economic hit and continued danger of future fishery collapses from climate change in the North Pacific, the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers say.
“Across the country, fisheries are racing the clock to adjust to changing climate and growing uncertainty,” according to a statement issued by the association Wednesday. “In the North Pacific, ABSC is proposing a 3-prong approach for crab and disasters like it: provide rapid financial relief, develop adaptive and responsive management, and bolster continued science and research. Alaska’s snow crab fishery is the perfect test case for innovating these crisis responses.”
“This is a defining moment in U.S. fisheries management,” said Jamie Goen, executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “We must focus on what we can control: helping hard-working fishing families and coastal communities and using the information we have to make better, more balanced, holistic management decisions.”