Kelsi Ivanoff said windy weather could make it unsafe for smaller vessels to reach their pots before the Norton Sound commercial king crab summer season closes Thursday at noon. Crabbers now have to decide whether to make one more offshore trip or leave gear behind when the deadline hits.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the harvest quota is nearly fully taken, with 230,203 pounds plus 3,743 pounds carried from the winter fishery. Crab pots must be left with bait removed and doors secured open at 11:59 a.m. Thursday, and all crab must be delivered to Nome by midnight.
Stephen Dennis on overnight winds
Stephen Dennis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said winds were forecast to be strongest overnight before easing by Thursday morning. He said, “We'll see winds 10 to 15 knots, maybe gusts up to 20 through the overnight hours, and then as the sun begins to come up, we'll start to see conditions improve as high pressure builds and the wind speeds will drop with them.”
Dennis said the winds were not fast enough to trigger a small craft advisory. Even so, the forecast called for 10 to 15 knots, with gusts up to 20, during the hours when crabbers would need to be moving gear back toward shore.
Kelsi Ivanoff and Ethan Kelso
Ivanoff said Wednesday night’s weather could be unsafe, especially for smaller vessels operating miles offshore. She said, “Having them go out in these conditions is not ideal,” and added that, “The swells are huge out there, it may not look bad on shore but when you are 15, 20, 25 miles out the swells, it's much different than what you see here in town.”
She said even 15 mph, or 13 knot, winds can cause trouble for crabbers and argued that a six to twelve hour extension would give vessels a safer window to retrieve their catch. She also said, “No one is going out there resetting their pots in this, rebaiting their pots in this to get more crab, everyone is sitting in the harbor waiting on the weather.”
Ethan Kelso on quota limits
Ethan Kelso, Norton Sound’s Shellfish Management Biologist, said the fishery is within a few percent of the quota and that an extension could push the harvest over the limit. He said, “Whatever fisherman harvest as of noon tomorrow, honestly, will just be a bonus,” and added, “We considered closing it this evening, but just due to windy conditions, we decided to give them just a little bit more time in case they were feeling extra adventurous.”
Ivanoff said, “We don't want it extended to get more crab, we want it extended for the safety of the fleet.” But the department has kept the Thursday noon closure in place, so crabbers who head out still have only a narrow window to bring gear in, deliver crab to Nome and meet the deadline at NSEDC by 11:59 p.m. Thursday night.
