Alaskan crabbers can finally drop pots for red king crab as National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) employees returned to work Thursday to issue Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ) to permitted vessels, following a 16-day partial shutdown of the United States government.
Nearly 100 boats have sat idly at port since the season opened Oct. 15, a cost of roughly $1,000 (€738.49) a day per ship, waiting on approval from the NMFS, Julie Speegal, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association Fisheries Alaska Region, which oversees NMFS, told IntraFish.
Each
