• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
NPFMC logo

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Managing Fisheries off the Coast of Alaska

MENUMENU
  • OUR MEETINGS
    • Current or Next Council Meeting
    • Archive of Council Meetings
    • Three Meeting Outlook
    • Future Council Meetings
    • Calendar of All Events
  • WHO WE ARE
        • COUNCIL MEMBERS
        • COUNCIL STAFF
        • NEWSLETTERS
        • ADVISORY GROUPS
        • Advisory Panel
        • Scientific and Statistical Committee
        • Other Committees
        • PLAN TEAMS
        • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team
        • BSAI and GOA Groundfish Plan Team
        • BSAI Crab Plan Team
        • Scallop Plan Team
        • Social Science Planning Team
  • HOW WE WORK
    • Navigating the Process
    • Management Policies
    • Research Priorities
    • FAQ
  • FISHERIES & ISSUES
        • FISHERIES
        • BSAI Crab Fisheries
        • BSAI Groundfish Fisheries
        • GOA Groundfish Fisheries
        • Halibut Fisheries
        • Scallop Fishery
        • Salmon Fisheries
        • Arctic
        • ISSUES
          • Habitat Protections
        • Harvest Specifications
        • Monitoring and Research
        • EBFM
        • BYCATCH
        • Halibut Bycatch
        • Salmon Bycatch
        • Crab Bycatch
        • Groundfish Bycatch
        • Protected Species
        • CATCH SHARES & ALLOCATIONS
        • Groundfish Quota Programs
        • IFQ Program
        • CDQ Program
        • BSAI Crab Rationalization Program
  • LIBRARY
    • Newsletters
    • Minutes and Records
    • Coop Reports
    • Council Mailings
    • FMPs FEPs & Amend Sums
    • Acronyms
    • LKTKS Search Engine
    • Papers & Publications
    • Prog. & Allocation Review
    • Recognition and Awards
    • SAFE Reports
    • All-Council site
    • NOAA Online Library
  • eAGENDA
  • CONTACT
sub1
sub1
sub1
  • Bycatch
  • Halibut
  • Salmon
  • Crab
  • Groundfish
  • Protected Species

Crab Bycatch

pacific-crab-bycatch-overview
Crab being offloaded in Dutch Harbor

Bycatch of crab occurs both in directed crab pot fisheries, as well as groundfish and scallop fisheries. In the crab fisheries, the discarded crabs include females of the target species, sublegal males of the target species (males that are smaller than the minimum size limit), and non-target crab. In all other fisheries, crabs are a prohibited species that must be discarded, so every crab caught incidentally is considered bycatch.

Crabs caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries are thought to have a high mortality rate (estimated at 80%); in the scallop dredge and pot fisheries for crab and groundfish, mortality is considered to be much lower (between 20% and 50%).

Crab Bycatch Reduction Measures in the Groundfish and Scallop Fisheries

Limits on the bycatch of prohibited crab species have been established in some Bering Sea fisheries, to reduce the impacts on these species traditionally harvested by other gear types.

Bycatch limits: When bycatch limits are reached, fisheries responsible for the bycatch are closed for the rest of the season, or are prohibited from fishing in areas with historically high bycatch rates. Crab bycatch limits (known as prohibited species catch limits, or PSC limits) have been established for the trawl fisheries in the BSAI to protect red king crab, Tanner crab, and snow crab. The limits fluctuate based on annual estimates of crab abundance.

Area closures: Area closures for trawl vessels have also been implemented throughout the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to protect crab. Several year-round and seasonal closures exist in Bristol Bay and around the Pribilof Islands, to increase protection for adult and juvenile crab and their habitat, as well as closures around Kodiak, southeast Alaska, Cook Inlet, and inside State waters. Additionally, year-round scallop closures to scallop dredging are intended to reduce bycatch of crab and to avoid and protect biologically critical areas such as nursery areas for groundfish and shellfish.

Gear restrictions: Since the 1980s, the Council has also implemented other measures to reduce crab bycatch in groundfish fisheries. Gillnets for groundfish are prohibited to prevent ghost fishing and bycatch of non-target species. Groundfish pots are required to have biodegradable panels and tunnel openings of a limited size to reduce incidental catch and ghost fishing from lost gear. Additionally, the use of bottom trawl gear is prohibited for vessels targeting pollock in the Bering Sea, to reduce crab and halibut bycatch, and a trawl sweep modification is required for vessels participating in the Bering Sea and GOA flatfish fisheries, to raise the trawl sweep off the seafloor and reduce unobserved mortality of crab.

Staff contact is Sam Cunningham.

Resources

NPFMC
Resources

Salmon Bycatch FAQ

External Resources

NOAA: Bycatch in Alaska

Search our eAgenda

More NPFMC Documents
Halibut Bycatch Background Documents

Primary Sidebar

CALENDAR

  • Ecosystem Committee Meeting
    Sep 28, 2023
    8:30 am - 4:30 pm    
  • Individual Fishing Quota Committee
    Sep 28, 2023
    8:30 am - 4:30 pm    
  • Enforcement Trawl Performance Workshop
    Oct 2, 2023
    1:00 pm - 5:00 pm    
  • Scientific & Statistical Committee Meeting
     Oct 2, 2023, 8:00 am — Oct 4, 2023, 5:00 pm    
  • Advisory Panel
     Oct 3, 2023, 8:00 am — Oct 7, 2023, 5:00 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Oct 5, 2023, 8:00 am — Oct 10, 2023, 5:00 pm    
  • Social Science Planning Team (SSPT)
    Oct 18, 2023
    2:00 pm - 4:00 pm    
  • Charter Halibut Management Committee
    Oct 20, 2023
    12:30 pm - 4:30 pm    
  • BS FEP Climate Change Taskforce Meeting
    Nov 1, 2023
    1:00 pm - 5:00 pm    
  • BS FEP Climate Change Taskforce Meeting
    Nov 2, 2023
    9:00 am - 5:00 pm    
  • Social Science Planning Team (SSPT)
    Nov 3, 2023
    8:30 am - 4:30 pm    
  • Joint, BSAI, GOA Groundfish Plan Team Meetings
     Nov 13, 2023, 12:00 am — Nov 17, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • IPHC Interim Meeting
     Nov 30, 2023, 12:00 am — Dec 1, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Dec 4, 2023, 12:00 am — Dec 12, 2023, 11:59 pm    
  • Scallop Plan Team
    Dec 14, 2023
    1:00 pm - 4:00 pm    
  • Crab Plan Team (T)
     Jan 8, 2024, 12:00 am — Jan 12, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • SSC Subgroup Research Priorities
    Jan 11, 2024
    11:30 am - 2:30 pm    
  • International Pacific Halibut Commission - Anchorage, AK
     Jan 22, 2024, 12:00 am — Jan 26, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • Alaska Marine Science Symposium
     Jan 29, 2024, 12:00 am — Feb 2, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Feb 5, 2024, 12:00 am — Feb 12, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Apr 1, 2024, 12:00 am — Apr 9, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • Crab Plan Team (T)
     May 13, 2024, 12:00 am — May 17, 2024, 11:59 pm    
  • Council Meeting
     Jun 3, 2024, 12:00 am — Jun 11, 2024, 11:59 pm    
 

VIEW FULL CALENDAR

Spotlight

Arctic Wilderness

October 2023 Meeting – Anchorage

Request for Information: 2024 Research Priorities Triennial Review

We respectfully acknowledge that the Council regularly meets, and its staff office resides, in Anchorage on Dena’ina homelands. The Council wants to honor the Dena’ina, the Indigenous Peoples who have stewarded this land across generations and continue to do so. We are glad to be part of this community, and to honor the culture, resilience, and tradition of the Dena’ina people.

Footer

NPFMC

1007 West Third Ave., Suite 400
L92 Building, 4th floor
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2252
View Map

Newsletter

Subscribe Now
View Newsletters

Contact Us

Phone: 907-271-2809
Staff Directory
Admin Email

Top
Copyright © 2023 North Pacific Fishery Management Council • All Rights Reserved • Privacy Policy • Website by Sundog Media, LLC Logo Sundog Media, LLC.