By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Researchers with the University of Alaska Anchorage say it's too early to tell the long-term economic effects of the privatization - dubbed rationalization - of crab fisheries on the Aleutians East Borough.

"After only one season, it is far too early to know what the long-term economic effects of crab rationalization will be on crab fishing fleets, on crab fishing jobs and earnings, on quota lease rates, on crab markets and prices, on processors and on communities," said researchers Gunnar Knapp and Marie Lowe.

"More generally, fishermen, processors and communities depend on many fisheries, including not just crab, but also salmon, halibut, herring and multiple groundfish species," Knapp and Lowe wrote in their report released in late May. "Changes in any single fishery affect other fisheries in multiple, complex ways. Ultimately, the economic and social effects of crab rationalization will affect, and be affected by, what happens in other fisheries, including potential changes in the management of other fisheries."

The report is the preliminary analysis prepared by the University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research for the Aleutians East Borough and the city of King Cove, on social and economic impact of the crab fisheries on King Cove, False Pass and Akutan. Knapp and Lowe said their study is still in progress and they expect to complete their final report in July.

The researchers concluded that under privatization of the crab fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, crab fishing jobs have changed. In general, those employed in the fishery are working longer seasons and earning more total income, they said. However, total crew earnings declined because the increase in earnings per job has not been sufficient to offset the decline in the number of jobs, they said.

Rationalization also has cut into sales of some businesses that sell to crab boats and crab fishermen, particularly those whose sales depend on the number of boats and people fishing, such as pot storage, welding, marine supplies, hotels and taxis, they said.

The preliminary analysis found that rationalization had the most significant direct economic impact on King Cove, because of the larger historical employment of King Cove residents on crab fishing boats, and the historical use of the King Cove harbor by crab fishing boats.

About 20 crab fishing jobs were lost, resulting in an approximate income loss of $600,000 for King Cove residents, and the number of crab boats delivering to King Cove fell from about 65 to 14, the report said. The loss in the number of boats delivering further resulted in a large decline in revenue for several King Cove businesses directly servicing the crab fleet, including those involved in crab pot storage, filter sales and a bar. In addition, harbor moorage fees collected by the city of King Cove declined by more than 30 percent.

But Knapp and Lowe said not all King Cove businesses have experienced declining sales. A general fleet service business operated by the processor in King Cove showed an increase in sales revenues during both major Bering Sea and Aleutian Island crab seasons, much of it from other fisheries, they said.

Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.