Alaska king crab quota cut 15%; opilio down slightly

In Bristol Bay, the red king crab catch is limited to 15.5 million pounds this season, compared to 18.3 million pounds last year, Nick Sagalkin, a biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), told IntraFish on Friday.

Alaska crabbers can harvest 36.5 million pounds of snow, or opilio, crab from the Bering Sea, compared to 37 million pounds last season.

The tanner crab quota for the western area is 1.1 million pounds, down 31 percent from 1.6 million pounds last year.