FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 74, NO. 3 



Table 1. -Sources of information. 



Fishery 



Contact 



Agency 



Alaska Dap. Fish and Game 



Alaska Dep. Fish and Game 



Alaska Dep. Fish and Game 



Canadian Fisheries & Marine Serv. 



Washington Dep. Fisheries 



Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission 



California Dep. Fish and Game 



Canadian Fisheries & Marine Serv. 



Delaware Dep. Natural 



Resources & Environmental Control 



Maryland Dep. Natural Resources 



North Carolina Dep. Natural and Economic Resources 



Florida Dep. Natural Resources 



Alabama Dep. Conservation & Natural Resources 



Texas Parks and Wildlife Dep. 



Florida Dep. Natural Resources 



principally by fishermen, and to maximize 

 physical yield. 



Allocation of landings among commercial 

 fishermen: to partition the annual catch of 

 a single species among participants, usually 

 by area or gear restrictions. 



Stability of landings: to even out annual 

 landings over good and bad years of re- 

 source recruitment. 



Conflict over grounds or resource: to resolve 

 competition among classes of users for 

 fishing grounds or fishery resources. 

 Sport-commercial conflicts over the same 

 species are included in this category. 



Processing economics: to limit landings to 

 crabs that can be processed at a profit 

 acceptable to processors. 



Administration: licensing and registration of 

 boats, men, and gear, and collection of 

 statistics. 



RESULTS 



Alaska King Crabs {Paralithodes 



camtschatica, P. platypus, P. brevipes, 



and Lithodes aequispina) 



Exploitation of American stocks of king crabs 

 was sporadic prior to 1953, but annual landings 

 increased from 5 to 159 million pounds from 1953 

 to 1966, sharply decreased, then recovered to 90 

 million pounds in 1974 and 1975 (Rothschild et al. 

 1970; D. E. Phinney, pers. commun.). The Amer- 

 ican fishery is pursued along most of the Alaskan 

 coast from the Bering Sea pack ice to the northern 

 end of Vancouver Island over a depth range of 20 

 to 100 fathoms (Idyll 1971). The catch is 



predominately P. camtschatica. Although Japan- 

 ese and Russian fleets formerly took large catches 

 from the Bering Sea, their efforts are now con- 

 centrated in the western North Pacific. The fol- 

 lowing regulations are those of Alaska. 



Conservation 



Seasons are set to prevent the taking of soft- 

 shelled crabs during and immediately after the 

 molting season. Soft-shelled crabs provide a low 

 meat yield, the quality of meat is poor, and the 

 handling mortality is high. 



Harvest levels (i.e., variable catch quotas) and 

 minimum sizes ensure that enough mature males 

 are left on the fishing grounds for breeding. Males 

 are sexually mature for an average of 2 yr before 

 reaching the minimum size. The minimum size 

 also helps maximize yield as determined from 

 growth and mortality rates. 



Most females are protected by the minimum size 

 but a separate regulation prevents their being 

 retained to leave them for reproduction. 



Gear type is limited to traps, ring nets (a type of 

 baited trap), and diving to prevent use of destruc- 

 tive trawls and tangle nets. The latter two types of 

 gear result in unacceptable levels of mortality of 

 noncommercial crabs returned to the water and of 

 commercial crabs before they reach the processing 

 plant. 



One nursery area is always closed to fishing to 

 prevent repeated handling of undersized and 

 female crabs. 



To help enforce seasons and harvest levels, 

 tunnel eyes, i.e., entrances of traps, must be at 

 least 5 inches high. This is so that king and snow 



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