Crab Lovers. Be prepared to pay a bomb for Alaskan Snow Crabs.

[SBFNews]

Third-generation Alaskan fishermen face ruin after seven billion snow crabs mysteriously disappear

• The future of one of Discovery's biggest franchises, Deadliest Catch, is under threat following the cancelation of the 2022 snow crab fishing season
• The show has aired on the channel since April 2005
• Fishermen and their families were dealt a devastating blow last week when the local government canceled the season for the first time in Alaska's history
• The industry regularly brings in $200 million per year
• The decision came after billions of snow crabs vanished from the Bering Sea-area over the last 12 months
• Restaurant owners across the country are gearing up for shortages and price increases as Alaska produces 60 percent of the seafood consumed in the US
• Last year, which was considered a slow year, the fleet in the Bering Sea caught $132 million worth of snow crabs
• One trawlerman said that the cancelation would be 'life changing' and possibly 'career ending'

The future of one of the Discovery Channel's most successful franchises is under severe threat following the news that Alaska's lucrative snow crab fishing season has been canceled.

Deadliest Catch has aired on the network since April 2005 and made stars of veteran sea captains such as Sig Hansen, Keith Colburn and Bill Wichrowski. Its 18th season is currently airing.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the stars and producers of the show for comment on its future.

Speaking to KING5, Bri Dwyer, the wife of one of the star's Deadliest Catch, said that the fishermen found out at the same time as everyone else that the season was canceled.

Bri Dwyer, wife of Sean Dwyer, said that the fishermen are allowed to catch, Bairdi, a specific type of snow crab.

She said: 'There's a small Bairdi season, a little over 2 million pounds and we need to see if it makes sense for our boats.'

• Captain Sean Dwyer from the hit show, Deadliest Catch, said that fishermen were told at the same time as everyone else that the show was canceled

• Deadliest Catch has aired on the network since April 2005 and made stars of veteran sea captains such as Sig Hansen, pictured here, Keith Colburn and Bill Wichrowski

Fishermen across the Pacific northwest face financial ruin after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled the state's lucrative snow crab fishing season in the Bering Sea.

The news will also have a huge bearing on the restaurant industry as price increases and shortages become inevitable. Alaska provides 60 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States.

The decision came after an ADF&G study found that billions of snow crabs had disappeared from the region.

Experts are divided on the cause of the disappearance. Some scientists believe the disappearance is related to migration or starvation, both of which would be connected to climate change.

While some believe that it could be connected to an outbreak of disease within the snow crab population.

According to the study, over the last two years, the snow crab population has dropped by around 90 percent.

• Snow crab are typically found in Alaska waters in the Bering, Beauford and Chuckchi seas. There are around 65 boats fishing those waters

A local fisherman, Gabriel Prout, told Alaska Public Media: 'People are really going to have to make some hard calls here, whether that's...selling their vessels [or] looking for other opportunities in other fishing sectors which is few and far between.'

Prout also said: 'Fishermen are really going to be hurting the next year.' He added that his hope that the state would move quickly to reply to the fishermen's disaster relief.

Speaking about the disappearance of the snow crab, Prout said: 'Did they run up north to get that colder water? Did they completely cross the border? Did they walk off the continental shelf on the edge there, over the Bering Sea?'

Another trawlerman, Dean Gribble Sr, told NBC News that the decision to cancel the season would be 'life-changing, if not career-ending for people.'

Gribble told the network that he has worked in the area since the 1970s. Nowadays, he is the captain of his own vessel.

• Last year, the fleet in the Bering Sea caught $132 million worth of snow crabs

• Gabriel Prout, told Alaska Public Media: 'People are really going to have to make some hard calls here, whether that's...selling their vessels [or] looking for other opportunities in other fishing sectors which is few and far between'

Snow crab are typically found in Alaska waters in the Bering, Beauford and Chuckchi seas. There are around 65 boats fishing those waters.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it's estimated that the Bering Sea-based fleet fished about $132 million worth of snow crab from the waters in 2020.

The executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, Jamie Goen, told KING5: 'Many of [the fishing boats] are small family businesses, second- and third-generation fishermen and they are losing their jobs. It's simply devastating.'

The Bristol Bay red king crab season has also been canceled.

In a statement on Facebook, Goen said: 'These are truly unprecedented and troubling times for Alaska’s iconic crab fisheries and for the hard-working fishermen and communities that depend on them.'

After recording the poorest crab season in 40 years in 2021, the city of St. Paul, Alaska lost $3 million worth of tax revenue, reports the Seattle Times. That accounted for half of the city's budget.

• Prout also said: 'Fishermen are really going to be hurting the next year.' He added that his hope that the state would move quickly to reply to the fishermen's disaster relief.

• Another trawlerman, Dean Gribble Sr, told NBC News that the decision to cancel the season would be 'life-changing, if not career-ending for people'

Miranda Westphal, of the ADF&G, told Alaska Public Media: 'In 2021 when they surveyed, we saw the largest decline we've ever seen in the snow crab population, which was very startling, I think, for everyone.'

Westphal said that she believes global warming is involved in the disappearance of the crabs. She suggested that the crabs may have starved to death because their metabolism increased due to warm water.

While another ADF&G scientist, Ben Daly, said in a CBS News interview that he believes the cause of the disappearance is due to some kind illness among the crab.

In an earlier statement, the body said: 'Management of Bering Sea snow crab must now focus on conservation and rebuilding given the condition of the stock. Efforts to advance our science and understanding of crab population dynamics are underway.'

Chris Sarajian, he owner of Smugglers Cove seafood restaurant in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, told WBRE that crab prices have been increasing all year.

He told the station: 'Normally we sell for thirty dollars had to go to fifty, or twenty dollars has to go to thirty, and we weren’t even making any money on it.

• Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a statement: 'Management of Bering Sea snow crab must now focus on conservation and rebuilding given the condition of the stock'

• Fisherman Dean Gribble Sr, told NBC News that the decision to cancel the season would be 'life-changing, if not career-ending for people

He also said: 'A lot of these guys with families and kids, there's no option other than getting out. That's where the hammer is going to fall — on the crew.'

According to the organization, the Bering Sea has faced record breaking heat waves. One in particular occurred between 2014 and 2016 known as 'The Blob.'

While another heatwave lasted between 2018 and 2021. That heatwave hit as the snow crab population was starting to grow again.

Westphal said that 2018 saw the biggest growth in the snow crab population in recorded history. The growth slowed in 2019. There was no crab census in 2020 due to Covid-19.

The number in 2021 was 'the biggest crash we've ever seen in snow crab,' Westphal added.

The NOAA has labeled Alaska has the fasted warming state in the country.

• Speaking to the KING5, the wife of one of the star's Deadliest Catch, said that the fishermen found out at the same time as everyone else that the season was canceled

• Bri Dwyer, wife of Sean Dwyer, said that the fishermen are allowed to catch, Bairdi, a specific type of snow crab

Alaska, within the limits of a federal management plan that comes up with an allowable biological catch, determines how many crab are caught.

A scientific model of the snow crab population reviewed by the federal North Pacific Fishery Management Council last week indicated there may have been enough this year for another small harvest.

However, Ben Daly, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game research coordinator, said the model has struggled to account for the dramatic population decline after the 2019 warming, and state officials were concerned it might not be accurate.

'We have extreme conservation concerns about the population. We have serious doubts about the model,' Daly said.

The fall red king crab harvest was canceled for the second year running because of the low number of mature female crabs, which are an indicator of the broader health of a stock that has been in long-term decline.

The survey needs to find at least 8.4 million mature females to OK a harvest, and the 2022 survey, though it showed improvement from 2021, still fell below that level, according to Daly.

Fisheries that accidentally catch Bristol Bay king and snow crab will continue at this point without new restrictions.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game also announced on Monday that a small Bering Sea crab harvest of more than 2 million pounds of tanner crab will open Oct. 16.

 

[blackmondy]

China is the culprit. They used their tiong submarines to chase crabs away from the Alaskan seafloor.

 

[cowbellc]

国之将亡，比有异像