Wrangell Assembly declares local disaster over Dungeness crab decline

Wrangell's borough Assembly has declared a local disaster over the Southeast Alaska commercial Dungeness crab fishery, a step that could put federal compensation within reach of about 60 crab permit holders who live there. The Assembly adopted Resolution No. 08-26-2071 unanimously on Aug. 25, and the borough announced it in a press release Sept. 3.

The resolution asks Governor Mike Dunleavy to "support and request a federal fishery resource disaster determination" for the 2026-2027 Southeast Alaska Dungeness crab fishery. It also seeks state and federal aid for fishermen, processors and communities, citing sea otter proliferation and predation as contributing impacts.

No state or federal disaster determination has been granted. The borough said a federal determination would create eligibility for fishery disaster assistance only subject to federal appropriations and an approved spending plan. NOAA Fisheries has missed its posted determination deadlines on eight of twelve pending Alaska fishery disaster requests, blocking aid allocation to affected communities.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on June 29, under Emergency Order 1C5426, that the summer season in Registration Area A, which is Southeast, would close after 40 days, at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, July 25, 2026, a three-week reduction from the maximum allowed. The season had opened June 15. A year earlier the department cut the 2025 summer season by six days, closing it Aug. 9 after projecting the harvest would not exceed 2.25 million pounds. For 2026 it projected a harvest above 1.5 million pounds but not above 2.25 million, near the lower end of that range, from June 15-22 landings and effort data.

The department calls those decisions management actions under the Southeastern Alaska Dungeness Crab Management Plan. It does not use the word failure or attribute the shortened seasons to sea otters. Ahead of setting the fall season, ADF&G found the share of legal-size male soft-shelled crabs discarded in the first week, crabs that have just molted and are thrown back, was above the previous three-year average, but said it was not a contributing factor in the fishery failing to meet the 2.25 million-pound threshold. The borough's press release and resolution are the only accounts of this dispute in the record; neither the governor's office nor the department has responded.

The fall season, also reduced, opens at 8 a.m. Oct. 1 and closes at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 31, 30 days under the same plan.