Fisheries Disaster Declaration sought in Bering Sea Crab Fishery

With a virtually complete shutdown of Bering Sea crab fishing at hand, fishermen, and Alaska communities are seeking an expedited fishery disaster declaration from the federal government.

The emergency is felt acutely on St. Paul Island, where the largely Aleut community of about 400 live on an economy dependent on the now-closing snow crab fishery.

“We’re predicting a 90 percent loss from two years ago and 85 percent of revenue from last year, said Ray Melovidov, chief operating officer of the Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association based in St. Paul.

Other revenue streams come in from pollock and cod fishing, but crabbing carries the freight for St. Paul. The money pays for fully funded preschool programs, home heating aid for residents, and community-wide broadband internet access among others said Melovidov, who serves on the city council.

Revenue from the big boats help maintain a local halibut fleet of 15 boats and about 80 crewmembers, a subsidy to buy their catch at prices competitive with other ports, said Melovidov.

St. Paul and other fishing communities reeled with the Oct. 10 announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that the 2022-2023 crab seasons would close after grim survey results.

An Oct. 18 letter to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, from Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers and other industry and community advocates, made the case for a U.S. Department of Commerce disaster finding. The new request should be tagged onto an existing plea for the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery season of 2021-2022, the advocates say.

“Because the 2022/2023 Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries are a complete closure and there is no final data to wait on for a determination.