BSAI Crab Fisheries
Management and Regulations
NOAA Fisheries Crab Management
Crab Capacity Reduction, the "Buyback"
Crab Rationalization
Community Development Quota (CDQ) for BSAI Crab
- 67 FR 13291, March 22, 2002. Final rule to change the CDQ regulations for BSAI crab
- 66 FR 38626, July 25, 2001. Proposed changes to crab CDQ program.
- CDQ Program
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
License Limitation Program (LLP)
- LLP Program
- Final rule to amend BSAI crab LLP eligibility - 68 FR 46117
- Proposed rule to amend BSAI crab LLP eligibility - 68 FR 22667
- BSAI C. Opilio and C. Bairdi Tanner Crab Endorsement Areas
- BSAI King Crab Endorsement Areas and Coordinates
Groundfish Trawl Regulations to Protect Crab and Their Habitat
- Habitat Protection Areas
- Prohibited Species Cap (PSC)
Overfished Fisheries and Rebuilding Plans
- Notice of the approval of Amendment 17 - a rebuilding plan for Pribilof blue king crab. (2004)
- Notice of proposed Amendment 17 - a rebuilding plan for Pribilof blue king crab. (2003)
- Notice of Overfished Stock - Pribilof blue king crab (2002)
- Amendment 14, Bering Sea snow crab rebuilding plan (2001)
- Amendment 15, Rebuilding plan for St. Matthew Blue King Crab Stock (2000)
- Notice of Availability for Amendment 14, Rebuilding Plan for Bering Sea Snow Crab (2000)
- Notice of Availability for Amendment 15, St. Matthew Blue King Crab Rebuilding Plan (2000)
- Amendment 11, Rebuilding Plan for Tanner Crab (2000)
- Notice of Availability, Amendment 11, Rebuilding Plan for Tanner Crab (2000)
- Notice of Overfished Fishery for C. Opilio and St. Matthew Blue King Crab (1999)
- Notice of Overfished Fishery for the Eastern Bering Sea Stock of C. Bairdi (1999)
- Overfishing Definitions for King and Tanner Crab and Scallop, Amendments 7/6 (1999)
- Notice of Availability for Revisions of Definitions for Overfishing - Amendments 7/6 (1998)
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council Crab Management
- Crab Rationalization
- Crab Plan Team
- Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports
- Summary of Fishery Management Plan for BSAI King and Tanner Crabs
State of Alaska Crab Management
(External links)Research and Population Information
Surveys and Research
- Eastern Bering Sea Crab Survey
- NMFS Kodiak Laboratory
- Reports to Industry on the Eastern Bering Sea Crab Surveys
- Species Profile: King and Tanner Crabs of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
- State of Alaska Crab Research
About BSAI Crab Fisheries Management
King crab. Photo: NOAA Fisheries Kodiak Laboratory
Crab fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) are managed under the Federal Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab. This FMP defers crab fishery management to the State of Alaska, including the opening and closing of fisheries and setting total allowable catches or guideline harvest levels for the fisheries. NMFS and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council retain the authority to establish the Crab Rationalization Program and Essential Fish Habitat, prevent overfishing, and rebuild overfished fisheries. NMFS and the Council also regulate the trawl fisheries to reduce their impacts on the crab stocks by establishing closed areas and reducing bycatch of crab in the trawl fisheries. The Council's Crab Plan Team coordinates crab management between NMFS and the State. It also provides Federal oversight of State crab management, develops FMP amendments to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable federal law, and prepares the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report. The Magnuson-Stevens Act created the crab Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program which allocates 10 percent of the total allowable catch to CDQ groups. The FMP defers management of the crab CDQ program to the State of Alaska with NMFS oversight.
Surveys and Research
NMFS annually surveys the BSAI crab stocks to estimate crab abundance. NMFS and the State of Alaska use this information to determine the status of the stocks and to set the harvest levels. The State of Alaska also conducts research to collect and evaluate basic life history data, characterize stock distribution, and develop methods to improve the fisheries and reduce bycatch.