February 26, 2025 — Red king crab commercial permit holders in Southeast Alaska will have a better chance of fishing in the coming seasons.
The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a change in management regulations proposed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) that allows for a conservative commercial fishery when crab stocks aren’t enough for a typical competitive opening.
Red king crab is a low-volume, high-value fishery. The crab can bring in over $100 each. But commercial openings have been few and far between — just one in over a decade.
Several commercial crabbers testified to the Board of Fish at their meeting in Ketchikan in January. Andy Kittams crabs out of Petersburg, a town with over half of the fishery’s permit holders.
“Had we fished that 117,000 pounds in 2024, it would have been worth over $2 million to the state of Alaska’s fishermen. The economic trickle down to our processors and coastal communities would have doubled that,” Kittams said. “So let’s move this arbitrary threshold — simple enough: change regulation, harvest the surplus king crab when available.”