October 11, 2024 — Alaska processor Trident Seafoods announced Monday that it probably won’t be processing crab in the Pribilof Island community of St. Paul this season.
That comes after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s decision to reopen the snow crab or opilio fishery after a two-year closure. The state’s announcement on Friday surprised many fishermen.
It was also a surprise to Trident. Shannon Carroll is the company’s Alaska director of public affairs and fisheries development. On Monday, he told the North Pacific Fishery Management Council that Trident wasn’t expecting the opening.
“To be frank, we never imagined, even a few weeks ago, being in this position,” he said. “And I want to be clear that it’s not a signal that we’re pulling out of St. Paul or pulling out of crab.”
Harvesters will have roughly 4.7 million pounds of snow crab to catch this season. That’s just a sliver of what they’ve historically harvested.