Southeast Alaska's commercial Dungeness crab season ends Saturday, a month early

Southeast Alaska's commercial Dungeness crab season closes at 11:59 pm Saturday, a month short of what regulations would otherwise allow across most of the region.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game cut the fall season to 30 days, Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, because its projection of the summer harvest fell short of 2.25 million pounds. Under the state's management plan, that shortfall sets the shorter fall season automatically.

It has been a hard year for the fleet. The summer season closed July 25 after 40 days, three weeks early, on a harvest estimate that was the lowest in at least 25 years. In Wrangell, home to more than 60 Dungeness permit holders, the borough Assembly declared a local disaster and asked Gov. Mike Dunleavy to seek a federal fishery disaster determination.

Crabbers have 24 hours after the closure to land their catch, according to the department's closure advisory. Pots can stay in closed waters for up to seven days, through Nov. 7, if every door is secured open and all bait is removed.