KING CRABS 



There are three major king crab 

 fishing districts in Alaska. Of these 

 Kodiak and the Sand Point-Cold Bay region 

 are areas of fall and winter fishing while 

 the Cook Inlet fishery (mainly in Kachemak 

 Bay) is carried on in the summer. The king 

 crab landings in pounds for the 195^^ 1955 > 

 and 1956 fishing seasons are as follows: 



Cook Inlet 



1956 2,072,679 

 1955 1,972,177 

 195^ 1,271,825 



Kodiak 



4,126,793 

 2,394,611 



4,764,315 



Sand Point 



2,043,90? 



1,640,688 



316,660 



The crab industry in Alaska has 

 expanded to such aa extent that a study of 

 the various crab populations and their 

 biology is necessary in order to know how 

 much expansion may occur without overex- 

 ploitation. The widespread distribution of 

 the fishery has resulted in crab investiga- 

 tions developing along several lines and in 

 different regions. Studies on the king 

 crab are being conducted by the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service; and, under contracts with 

 the Service, king crab studies are also 

 being conducted by the University of South- 

 em California, the University of Washington, 

 and the Alaska Depajrtment of Fish and Game. 

 Coordination of the contracts of the various 

 etgencies is accomplished by the Service. 

 The studies are being conducted in Cook 

 Inlet, Kodiak, and the Saad Point-Shumagin 

 region. 



In Cook Inlet, crab studies are 

 being conducted by the University of South - 

 em California and the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. The University's contract inves- 

 tigations concern the biology of the king 

 crab, while the Service's program involves 

 a study of the fishery. 



Several thousand tagged crab have 

 been released and measurements of the size 

 composition of the crab catch are xmderway. 



SHRIMP 



Alaska's shrimp pixiduction continued 

 to be limited for economic rather than 

 biological reasons. Although a small 

 shrimp pack originates from Cook Inlet, 

 Southeastern Alaska continues to produce 

 the major portion of the pack. The pro- 

 duct in pounds for 1954 through 1956 in 

 Southeastern Alaska has been: 



1956 

 1955 

 195't 



3,031,598 

 1,777,122 

 1,437,924 



This year the schooner TORDENSKJOLD, 

 under charter to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service , found excellent shrimp fishing in 

 the waters between the Alaska Peninsula 

 and the Shumagin Islemds. For example, 

 three 30 -minute drags off Pavlof Bay pro- 

 duced a total of 8,460 pounds of shrimp. 



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