By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Harvest of snow crab by vessels with individual fishing quotas, already hampered by low prices to fishermen, is now facing the additional stress of heavy sea ice in a critical area of the fishery.

Sea ice covering the Pribilof Islands in early February, the most productive area of the fishing grounds, is having a big impact on vessels trying to bring their catch in to St. Paul Harbor, said Forrest Bowers, the state's area management biologist for shellfish at Dutch Harbor.

Since the snow crab fishery opened Oct. 15, fishermen with individual fishing quotas have harvested 9.4 million pounds of an allowable 33.4 million pounds, Bowers said Feb. 7.

A year ago, before the federal crab rationalization program assigned quota shares to fishermen based on their harvest history, the allowable harvest of 23 million pounds was caught in five days, and the season closed Jan. 20, Bowers said.

Another 3.7 million pounds of this year's harvest of snow crab is allocated to community development quota groups, but no reports on that harvest were available.

Bowers attributed the higher allowable harvest this season to improved recruitment of snow crab into the harvest area.

Still, in recent years buyers have found more abundant markets in Canada and Russia, where harvests have surpassed 100 million pounds, said one Dutch Harbor processor. That's why the average price per pound being paid to fishermen this season is about 95 cents, compared to about $1.80 a pound a year ago, he said.

A total of 113 vessels registered preseason for the snow crab fishery, which runs through May 15 in the eastern subdistrict, and through May 31 in the western subdistrict, Bowers said. Still, only 51 vessels with individual fishing quotas have registered to fish to date, compared with 168 vessels that fished last year, he said.

Margaret Bauman can be reached at

margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.