A woman holding a red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide. Large numbers of king crab are also caught in Russian and international waters.^[1] Download high resolution version (1182x890, 236 KB)Photo of woman holding a Red King Crab. ... Download high resolution version (1182x890, 236 KB)Photo of woman holding a Red King Crab. ... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Aleutians seen from space The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, island) are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands [1]. Oceans and seas, waters...

Types of commercially valuable king crab

In Alaska, three species of king crab are caught commercially: the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus, found in Bristol Bay, Norton Sound, and the Kodiak Archipelago), blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus, St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands), and golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus, Aleutian Islands). The red king crab is the most prized of the three for its meat. A fourth variety of king crab, the scarlet king crab (Lithodes couesi), is too small and rare to be commercially viable, even though its meat is considered sweet and tasty.^[2] Specific size requirements must be met: only certain types of king crab are legal at different times of the year and only males can be kept. Maximum quotas must not be exceeded; stiff fines are imposed on violators. Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... Binomial name (Tilesius, 1815) [1] The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, is the most coveted commercially sold king crab and is the most expensive per unit weight. ... Shore of Bristol Bay near Naknek. ... The Norton Sound is an inlet of the Bering Sea in western Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. ... The Kodiak Archipelago is an archipelago, or group of islands, south of the mainland of the United States state of Alaska, about 405 km (252 miles) by air south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. ... St. ... The Pribilof Islands (often called the Fur Seal Islands, Russian: Kotovi) are a group of four volcanic islands, part of Alaska, lying in the Bering Sea, about 200 miles north of Unalaska and 200 miles south of Cape Newenham, the nearest point on the North American mainland. ... Aleutians seen from space The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, island) are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ...

Fishing season

The most popular crabbing months are October and January. The season for each crab can be very short — the season for red king crab is currently four days, having been reduced repeatedly in previous years.^[3][4] In the winter 2005–2006 season, 250 boats caught 14 million pounds of red king crab in four days.^[2]

Equipment and process

Commercial fishing boats are between 12 and 75 meters (40 to 250 feet) in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able to withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea.^[3] Each fishing boat sets its own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, sometimes staying out for days or weeks at a time. Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Sea Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean Bearing Sea with Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska The Bering (or Imarpik) Sea is a body of water north of, and separated from, the north Pacific Ocean by the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. ...

Fishermen use a steel box-shaped trap consisting of a steel frame covered with a wire mesh called a pot. Each pot weighs 600–800 pounds and a ship may carry 200 or 300 pots. ^[4] Fish, usually herring or codfish, are placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the king crab reside. Red and blue king crabs can be found anywhere between the intertidal zone and a depth of 100 fathoms (180 m). Golden king crabs live in depths between 100 and 400 fathoms (180 and 720 m). The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy which is later used for retrieval. After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor (typically one to two days for red and blue king crabs, longer for golden king crabs), the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic crane on the fishing boat.^[3] For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... The pound or pound-mass (abbreviations: lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass (sometimes called weight in everyday parlance) in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic... Species Gadus morhua Gadus macrocephalus Gadus ogac Cod is the common name for the genus Gadus of fishes, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes. ... The seabed (also sea floor, seafloor, or ocean floor) is the bottom of the ocean. ... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... A rock, seen at low tide, exhibiting typical intertidal zonation. ... A fathom is the name of a unit of length in the Imperial system (and the derived U.S. customary units). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... A sea lion on navigational buoy #14 in San Diego Harbor Green can #11 near the mouth of the Saugatuck river. ...

The king crab in the pots are sorted once they are brought to the surface, and any not meeting the regulation requirements are thrown back. The king crab are typically stored live in a holding tank until the boat reaches shore, where they are sold. If the weather becomes too cold, the live king crab may freeze and burst. If they are left in the tank for too long, they will harm and possibly kill each other, as they can be cannibalistic.^[4] Cannibal redirects here. ...

Deckhands are paid a percentage of the profits after the owner's share is taken into account. This can range from nothing to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the success of the boat. The so-called 'greenhorns' (deckhands in their first season of fishing) get a fixed amount of money. A greenhorn is a term that came from ranchers to describe someone thats new to the job and has never roped cattle before. ...

Danger

Alaskan crab fishing is one of the United States' most dangerous jobs.^[5] In 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the job occupation with the highest fatality rate with 118.4 fatalities per 100,000, almost 30 times the rate of the average worker.^[6] However, Alaskan crab fishing specifically is even more dangerous with over 300 fatalities per 100,000.^[7][8] Over 80% of these deaths are caused by drowning or hypothermia.^[9] The fishermen are also susceptible to crippling injuries obtained from working with heavy machinery and gear.^[10] The Bureau of Labor Statistics was founded in 1884 by President Chester A. Arthur. ...

Population decline

In 1980, at the peak of the king crab industry, some Alaskan fisheries produced up to 200 million pounds of crab. However, by 1983, the total size of the catch had dropped almost sixty-fold. Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed, including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation, but the true cause remains a mystery. The slow harvest forced many fishermen to diversify and catch snow crabs (such as bairdi and opilio) or cod. In recent years, strict regulations have been enforced in order to responsibly manage the populations and allow them to rebound. The red and blue king crab population has stayed relatively low in almost all areas except Southeast Alaska since 1983, forcing many fishermen to concentrate on the Golden King Crab.^[3] Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... The pound or pound-mass (abbreviations: lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass (sometimes called weight in everyday parlance) in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Species include This crab is known by different names across the globe: In America, snow crab, opilio, and spider crab, as well as bairdi, and tanner crab In Canada, queen crab In Japan, Generally, ずわい蟹 (Zuwai gani) Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures, えちぜん蟹 (Echizen... Binomial name M. J. Rathbun, 1924 [1] Chionoecetes bairdi, known alternatively as bairdi crab and tanner crab, is closly related to the opilio crab. ... Species include This crab is known by different names across the globe: In America, snow crab, opilio, and spider crab, as well as bairdi, and tanner crab In Canada, queen crab In Japan, Generally, ずわい蟹 (Zuwai gani) Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures, えちぜん蟹 (Echizen... COD may refer to many different topics, including: Cash on delivery Completion of discharge, shipping College of DuPage, a public Junior College with campuses in the suburbs of Chicago Call of Duty (series), a series of computer games Canadian Oxford Dictionary Carrier onboard delivery Catastrophic optical damage, a failure mode... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ...

In the media

Deadliest Catch is a documentary-style series aired by the Discovery Channel beginning in 2005. The show highlights the dangers of king crab fishing: the waters are freezing, the pots that must be dragged up can weigh well over a ton when full, and, since the season is short — both because of regulations and the weather — fishermen spend days at a time on very rough seas working long hours with little rest time.^[4] Deadliest Catch is a documentary-style television series that documents the events aboard fishing boats in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and Opilio crab fishing seasons. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ...

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• Norton Sound winter red king crab studies, 2006 / by Joyce Soong. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
• The 2006 triennial Aleutian Islands golden king crab survey / by Leslie J. Watson. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.