The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has published the 2026-27 total allowable catches (TAC) for three Bering Sea crab fisheries, which will all open at noon on Thursday, October 15.
For Bristol Bay red king crab, the TAC is 3.41 million pounds (1,547 tonnes); the Bering Sea snow crab TAC is 5.1 million pounds (2,300 tonnes), while eastern and western Bering Sea Tanner crab together have a 32.1 million-pound (14,600-tonne) TAC.
The limits follow analysis of the 2026 National Marine Fisheries Service trawl survey. ADF&G said biomass estimates for each stock were above the thresholds required to open the fisheries.
Of the red king crab TAC, 3.069 million pounds (1,392 tonnes) is allocated to individual fishing quota (IFQ) holders and 341,000 pounds (155 tonnes) to community development quota (CDQ) groups.
The fishery will close at 23:59 local time on January 15, 2027.
The snow crab TAC is split into 4.59 million pounds (2,080 tonnes) of IFQ and 510,000 pounds (230 tonnes) of CDQ. The Eastern Subdistrict, east of 173° W longitude, will close on May 15, 2027, while the Western Subdistrict will close on May 31, 2027.
For Tanner crab, 27.2 million pounds (12,300 tonnes) is allocated to waters west of 166° W longitude and 4.9 million pounds (2,200 tonnes) to the area between 166° W and 163° W. Both Tanner fisheries will close on March 31, 2027.
Compared with 2025-26, the red king crab TAC is up by about 27 per cent from 2.68 million pounds (1,220 tonnes). The snow crab TAC is down by about 45 per cent from 9.3 million pounds (4,200 tonnes); that earlier figure included an extra one million pounds (450 tonnes) for vessels to fish specifically for hybrid Chionoecetes crab. The Tanner crab TAC is up from 11.25 million pounds (5,103 tonnes).
Seafood supplier Keyport said red king and snow crab harvests remain below historical levels and described the snow crab TAC as conservative. The company expects limited supplies of red king crab and domestic snow crab, and said the market is likely to stay firm as expenses for freight, processing and harvesting rise.
"Harvest levels remain measured, and at the same time the cost of fishing, processing, and getting crab to market continues to climb," said Keyport CEO Mark Pedersen.
The snow crab fishery was closed for two consecutive seasons after more than 10 billion crab disappeared from the eastern Bering Sea between 2018 and 2021. NOAA scientists identified starvation linked to warmer water as the most likely cause.
The fishery reopened in 2024-25 with a TAC of 4.72 million pounds (2,140 tonnes), compared with 45 million pounds (20,000 tonnes) in 2020-21.
The Bering Sea snow crab fishery was among those included in US$123.6 million in fishery disaster funding allocated by the US Department of Commerce earlier this year.