Bering Sea crab fishermen welcome the smooth start of the season as they embarked on the 2009-10 red king crab season in search of a harvest quota of 16.9 million pounds of king crab. The Coast Guard meanwhile has begun its annual deployment of a Jayhawk helicopter and crew from Air Station Kodiak to Cold Bay for the red king crab fishery.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Jon-Paul Rios informed that in January the officials will move that helicopter and crew to St. Paul for the opilio crab fishery. Rios also said that they are not out there just for the crabbers. They are out there for everybody, so if something does happen, they can respond a lot faster.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 62 vessels are on the fishing grounds out of the 93 that pre-registered for this year’s red king crab fishery. Each vessel has a finite quota of allowable harvest and can fish until that quota is achieved. Safety at sea was given as one reason for the crab rationalization program, which remains controversial because of the way crab harvest quotas were allocated to harvesters, along with processing quota rights to processors.
It is said that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game deploys observers aboard about 20 percent of the fleet for the duration of fishing operations. Fishermen were asked to notify the Coast Guard 24 hours prior to a vessel’s initial departure from port.
