State estimates Southeast legal red king crab biomass rose 25% this year

Southeast Alaska's commercial red and blue king crab fishery was scheduled to open at 10 am Sunday, Nov. 1, with a regionwide harvest level of 213,076 pounds. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game set that level on its estimate that the region holds 3.73 million pounds of legal male red king crab this season, 25% more than in 2025. That estimate sets how much crab the fleet may take across 10 management areas, three of which were scheduled to close after 24 to 56 hours.

Estimated mature male biomass, which includes crab not yet at the 7-inch legal size, rose far less: 2%, to 4.13 million pounds, according to the department's Southeast Alaska 2026 Commercial Red King Crab Fishery advisory. The gain in legal crab came from three of seven surveyed areas: Juneau, Gambier Bay and Seymour Canal. The department builds the regional estimate from those seven areas and scales it up to the entire region. Seven of this season's 10 fishing areas were not surveyed; the department will close each when its harvest level is projected to be reached, based on daily reports permit holders must phone in.

The harvest level climbed more slowly than legal biomass. Last season's level was 211,573 pounds, according to the department's 2025–2026 Southeast Alaska Red King Crab Stock Assessment, which put regional legal male biomass at 2.65 million pounds and mature male biomass at 3.72 million. A 25% rise from 2.65 million pounds works out to about 3.3 million pounds, not 3.73 million. The advisory does not give the 2025 figures it compared against, and last year's assessment noted its own year-over-year comparison relied on "the 2025 model estimates." The fishery opens only when the harvest level reaches 200,000 pounds, a threshold set in state regulation.

The three surveyed areas carry fixed clocks: 24 hours in Juneau, which has a 22,085-pound harvest level, 28 hours in Gambier Bay and 56 hours in Seymour Canal. Closures in the non-surveyed areas can come with as little as eight hours' notice, the department said.