ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF ALASKA’S
CRAB CATCH SHARE PROGRAM
The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fleet is experiencing significant conservation benefits in the five years that the crab catch share program has been in place.
Benefits Include:
- Each vessel fishes a pre-determined share of the science-based catch limit and there is no longer a race for the crab.
- Every pound of crab harvested is counted and catch limits are not exceeded. Each vessel is equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS) to ensure compliance with landing requirements, and to collect spatial data on fishing effort.
- A slower paced fishery allows for longer soak times and more time for the gear to work as it should to carefully sort the harvest.
- Crabbers are constructing pots with larger web on the panels to allow for female and juvenile crab to exit the pot before the gear is hauled back by the vessel. This results in significantly less by-catch of the non-targeted animals and a higher catch rate of legally sized crab.
- Fewer pots being used in the crab fisheries results in less impact on the marine habitat. The yearly marine habitat footprint is now less than ½ square mile for the entire Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
- The carbon footprint has been dramatically reduced due to less fuel being burned throughout the fishing season. This has been achieved by cooperative fishing efforts by the fleet.
