Snow Crab Harvest and Market Update
The Federal snow crab fishery got off to a slow start due to ice pack conditions on the fishing grounds and relatively strong Pacific cod prices. The new quota system enabled boats to continue participating in open fisheries for Pacific Cod without losing the opportunity to catch their snow crab quota. As of March 3, only 17 million pounds (49 percent) of the Bering Sea snow crab allocation had been landed. Crab fishing activity picked up as some of the cod fisheries closed and by April 18 Bering Sea snow crab landings totaled over 33 million pounds, 94 percent of the allocation.
Market-based trade press reports that crab quality is good, with better meat fill and higher average size than last year. However, this does not seem to have helped improve prices. As of mid-April, FOB West coast wholesale prices for ocean run Alaska snow crab clusters range from $3.25 -$3.35 per pound, down 26 percent from $4.25-$4.35 in mid-April 2005.
Canada Snow Crab Quota
In news from competing fisheries, snow crab quotas in Eastern Canada are down 10 percent, from 82,000 metric tons in 2005 to 72,100 metric tons in 2006. Eastern Canada snow crab is the primary competition for Alaska snow crab. Canadian production is typically more than double the Alaska harvest (Alaska snow crab TAC was 37,000 tons this year) and Canadian and Alaska product share the same primary market in the U.S.
The 2006 Newfoundland, Canada snow crab quota is 46,233 metric tons, a 7 percent decrease from the 2005 quota. Landings from the Newfoundland snow crab fishery totaled 44,000 metric tons in 2005, about 5,000 tons short of the quota that year. Canada���s Gulf snow crab quota declined 20 percent from 32,366 metric tons to 25,869 metric tons.�� The Gulf includes New Brunswick, Quebec, Prince Edwards Island, and Nova Scotia.
Alaska���s new quota-based management system provides some flexibility with respect to timing of market entry. Newfoundland crabbers began fishing on April 5 of this year, but by that time more than three-quarters of the Alaska snow crab TAC had already been landed.
State Waters Tanner Crab
There are two significant state-water fisheries for Tanner crab in January and February, with a total harvest of 2.9 million pounds in 2006, about 8 percent of the statewide total for Tanner and snow crab.
Kodiak District Tanner crab fishery opened January 17 after a brief weather delay.�� The fishery was complete by early February, with total landings of 1.97 million pounds on a 2.1 million pound GHL. Preliminary average ex-vessel price reported by ADF&G was $1.44 per pound, down from $1.65 in 2005.
The Southeast Alaska Tanner crab fishery opened February 10, concurrent with opening of the golden king crab fishery in the region. The Tanner portion of the fishery closed February 25, with harvest of 886,000 pounds landed by 71 permits. Based on ADF&G estimates, ex-vessel value in the 2006 fishery was approximately $1.42 per pound, down from $1.96 in 2005.
The Eastern Aleutian state-waters Tanner crab fishery at Unalaska Island opened for one week in January. Total harvest was approximately 80,000 pounds.
King crab
The Bering Sea king crab fishery is complete, with 259 vessel landings for a total of 16.48 million pounds. In the domestic market, FOB west coast wholesale prices for 9-12 count leg and claw were $8.70 - $8.85 as of mid-March, a 19 percent decrease from March 2004. Depending on size, U.S. wholesale prices for king crab have dropped between 8 and 24 percent from a year ago.
