Crab fishing in Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) is a high-value commercial fishery managed across multiple stocks, fishing areas, seasons, and quota systems. In 2021, BSAI crab fisheries produced 51 million pounds of commercial ex-vessel landings and generated $297 million in gross ex-vessel revenue, according to the 2022 Crab SAFE. The figures below separate landings, processed production, employment, quota participation, and current allocation data so the scale of the industry is easier to understand.
Crab fishing statistics at a glance
- 2021 commercial landings: 51 million pounds, or 23.1 thousand metric tons (2022 Crab SAFE).
- 2021 gross ex-vessel revenue: $297 million (2022 Crab SAFE).
- 2021 finished production: 33 million pounds, or 15.1 thousand metric tons (2022 Crab SAFE).
- 2021 first wholesale value: $372 million FOB Alaska (2022 Crab SAFE).
- Active fishing vessels in 2021: 67 (2022 Crab SAFE).
- Active processors in 2021: 80, including 17 catcher-processors and 63 shoreside or floating processors (2022 Crab SAFE).
- Estimated 2021 crew employment: 2,562 jobs across all locations (2022 Crab SAFE).
- CDQ allocation: 10% of total allowable catch under the crab Community Development Quota Program (NOAA Fisheries, BSAI Crab Fisheries).
- Alaska snow crab fishing areas: 4, with bairdi and opilio as the two marketed species (Alaska Seafood, snow crab page).
Contents
- How large is the BSAI crab fishery?
- Stocks, fisheries, and management
- Vessels, processors, and employment
- Quota-share participation from 2017/18 to 2021/22
- Snow crab products and seasonal supply
- 2023/2024 IFQ allocations and landings
How large is the BSAI crab fishery?
The 2022 Crab SAFE reports 51 million pounds of BSAI crab commercial ex-vessel landings in 2021, equivalent to 23.1 thousand metric tons. Ex-vessel value measures the value of the catch when it leaves the fishing operation, before later processing and wholesale stages. That catch generated $297 million in gross ex-vessel revenue.
Processors reported 33 million pounds of finished crab production in 2021, or 15.1 thousand metric tons. The first wholesale value of that finished production was $372 million FOB Alaska. These are different stages of the same broad supply chain: landings describe delivered catch, while finished production describes product reported by processors.
| 2021 BSAI crab measure | Reported amount |
|---|---|
| Commercial ex-vessel landings | 51 million lb (23.1 thousand metric tons) |
| Gross ex-vessel revenue | $297 million |
| Finished crab production | 33 million lb (15.1 thousand metric tons) |
| First wholesale value, FOB Alaska | $372 million |
The fishery represented 0.60% of total U.S. commercial seafood landings volume and 4.63% of total U.S. ex-vessel seafood value in 2021. Within Alaska, BSAI crab accounted for 0.97% of commercial landings volume and 14.7% of commercial ex-vessel value. The contrast between volume and value shows how economically concentrated a high-value seafood fishery can be, although the percentages describe different denominators and should not be treated as a direct measure of profitability.
Stocks, fisheries, and management
The 2022 Crab SAFE identifies 10 crab stocks and 11 distinctly managed fisheries under the BSAI crab fishery management plan. In 2021, the source describes four fisheries as open to targeted fishing. The active fishery codes listed for that year were BSS, EAG, WAG, WBT, and PIG; the same source identifies BBR, EBT, SMB, and NSR as closed or inactive. Because the reported codes and the stated count appear together in the source, they are retained here without adding an interpretation about how the categories were counted.
NOAA Fisheries says most BSAI crab fisheries are managed under state-set total allowable catches (TACs) or guideline harvest levels (GHLs). Federal oversight is used for preventing overfishing and rebuilding fisheries classified as overfished. The management structure therefore combines state catch limits with federal conservation responsibilities.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act crab Community Development Quota Program allocates 10% of total allowable catch to CDQ groups, according to NOAA Fisheries’ BSAI Crab Fisheries information. This allocation is distinct from the commercial landings and revenue totals above; it describes how allowable catch is distributed within the management system.
The 2022 Crab SAFE also reports that, during 2021, 67 vessels actively operated in one or more BSAI crab fishery. “Active” is the source’s measurement for that year and does not mean that all 67 vessels fished every stock or operated for the same length of time.
Vessels, processors, and employment
There were 80 active processors across BSAI crab fisheries in 2021. The total included 17 catcher-processors and 63 shoreside or floating processors. Catcher-processors combine harvesting and processing on the vessel, while shoreside or floating processors represent separate processing locations or platforms in the source’s classification.
Estimated crew employment across all locations totaled 2,562 jobs in 2021. The associated estimated processor labor income was $8.19 million. The location breakdown in the 2022 Crab SAFE was as follows:
| 2021 employment location | Crew workers | Income |
|---|---|---|
| Unalaska/Dutch Harbor | 485 (18.93%) | $1.00 million |
| Other Alaska | 50 (1.95%) | $0.13 million |
| Alaska Total | 633 (24.71%) | $1.43 million |
| Washington | 517 (20.18%) | $2.03 million |
| Other State or Unknown | 950 (37.08%) | $2.70 million |
| All Locations | 2,562 | $8.19 million |
The geographic totals measure different scopes. Alaska Total is a state grouping, while All Locations includes Alaska, Washington, and Other State or Unknown. The location-specific worker counts and percentages are therefore best read as reported categories rather than added together across overlapping labels.
The source also includes an All Communities row reporting 2,405 workers and $5.24 million in income for the 2017 row of Table 1.5. That row is retained with its stated table-year reference and should not be read as a second 2021 total. The separate All Locations figure is explicitly reported for 2021.
Quota-share participation from 2017/18 to 2021/22
The 2022 Crab SAFE reports quota-share (QS) holder counts for five fishery codes across five fishing years. The active-total share is the share of the QS pool identified by the source as active. The data show lower active participation in 2021/22 than in 2017/18 for each of the five listed fisheries.
| Fishery | Active total, 2017/18 | Active share, 2017/18 | Active total, 2021/22 | Active share, 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBR | 209 | 0.63 | 170 | 0.55 |
| BSS | 219 | 0.65 | 182 | 0.57 |
| EBT | 209 | 0.61 | 167 | 0.53 |
| WBT | 172 | 0.66 | 140 | 0.57 |
| PIK | 160 | 0.59 | 132 | 0.51 |
For BBR, active vessel owners numbered 203 in 2017/18 and 168 in 2021/22; active gear operators declined from 25 to 13; and inactive holders increased from 314 to 369. BSS recorded 212 active vessel owners, 29 active gear operators, and 262 inactive holders in 2017/18, compared with 178, 18, and 320 respectively in 2021/22.
EBT declined from 202 active vessel owners, 26 active gear operators, and 309 inactive holders in 2017/18 to 165, 13, and 366 in 2021/22. WBT moved from 169 active vessel owners, 15 active gear operators, and 160 inactive holders to 138, 9, and 210. PIK moved from 156 active vessel owners, 16 active gear operators, and 126 inactive holders to 130, 7, and 176.
WAI had the highest active share among the listed fisheries in both endpoint years: 0.85 in 2017/18 and 0.81 in 2021/22. Its active total declined from 55 to 34, active vessel owners from 53 to 32, and active gear operators from 9 to 5. Inactive holders increased from 40 to 68. These figures describe quota-share participation, not catch volume or revenue.
Snow crab products and seasonal supply
Alaska Seafood reports that Alaska snow crab is harvested in four different fishing areas and marketed through two species names: bairdi and opilio. The same source says snow crab harvest is limited by size, sex, and season rules. NOAA’s management information separately emphasizes TACs and GHLs for most BSAI crab fisheries, so these biological and seasonal restrictions sit alongside catch-limit management.
Alaska snow crab is harvested primarily during winter months and sold year-round in frozen form, according to Alaska Seafood. That seasonal production pattern helps explain why the harvest period and the consumer availability period are not identical: fishing is concentrated in winter, while frozen product is marketed throughout the year.
For a 3-ounce serving, Alaska Seafood lists 20 grams of protein, 405 milligrams of omega-3, 8.8 micrograms of vitamin B-12, and 40 micrograms of vitamin D. These are nutrition figures for the stated serving size, not totals for a whole crab or an entire commercial landing.
Alaska Seafood also says approximately 420 workers make up Alaska’s snow crab industry. This figure uses the source’s snow-crab industry scope and should not be substituted for the 2,562 estimated crew jobs across all BSAI crab fisheries and all locations reported in the 2022 Crab SAFE.
2023/2024 IFQ allocations and landings
NOAA’s 2023/2024 crab IFQ Allocations and Landings report provides fishery-level figures for individual quota fisheries. For BBR, the report lists 104 vessel landings, 1,929,108 pounds caught, 1,935,000 pounds allocated, 5,892 pounds remaining, and 100% landed.
For EAG, the same report lists 56 vessel landings and 3,348,000 pounds allocated. Catch values for EAG are confidential in the report, so no catch, remaining-pound, or landed-percentage figure is added here.
| 2023/2024 IFQ measure | BBR | EAG |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel landings | 104 | 56 |
| Pounds caught | 1,929,108 | Confidential |
| Pounds allocated | 1,935,000 | 3,348,000 |
| Pounds remaining | 5,892 | Confidential |
| Percent landed | 100% | Confidential |
The 2023/2024 IFQ figures are a separate measurement period from the 2021 production, value, vessel, processor, and employment statistics. They should not be combined into a single annual total or used to infer a change in the fishery without additional years of comparable data.