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Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

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SECTION 1.0<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

The red king crab fisheries of the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) have,<br />

in recent history, been the richest fished by U.S. fleets with an<br />

ex-vessel value of $169 million in 1980 (Eaton 1980; NOAA 1981; Otto, et<br />

al. 1980a; Otto 1981). Populations in 1978 to 1980 were the highest<br />

estimated by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in over 10<br />

years (Otto 1981; Otto, et al. 1982) <strong>and</strong> caused an expansion in fishing<br />

effort <strong>and</strong> the fleet working the SEBS.<br />

However, the commercial fishery<br />

suffered depressed l<strong>and</strong>ings of red king crab in 1981 <strong>and</strong> 1982.<br />

L<strong>and</strong>ings<br />

declined from 131 x 10[superscript]6<br />

lb in 1980 to about 35 x 10[superscript]6<br />

lb in 1981 (INPFC<br />

1982), <strong>and</strong> the fishery was closed at about 3.5 x 10[superscript]6<br />

lb in 1982 (M.<br />

Hayes, NMFS, Seattle, pers. communication).<br />

Such severe reductions in<br />

l<strong>and</strong>ings are in accord with NMFS predictions of decreased abundance (a<br />

five-fold decrease from 1979 to 1982; Otto, et al. 1982), <strong>and</strong> reflect<br />

substantial, but unexplained, variation in success of year classes.<br />

Further depression of fishable stocks <strong>and</strong> mature females <strong>and</strong> subadults<br />

have been so severe that NMFS <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Alaska</strong> Department of Fish <strong>and</strong> Game<br />

(ADF&G) recommended that the 1983 season for Bristol Bay not be opened<br />

so that the population might recover (M. Hayes, NMFS, Seattle, pers.<br />

communication).<br />

Exact causes underlying such pronounced fluctuations in<br />

abundance of this <strong>and</strong> other crab species are not known, but numerous<br />

hypotheses have been advanced that advocate both biotic <strong>and</strong> abiotic<br />

factors (see reviews by Hayes 1983, Armstrong 1983).<br />

Oil <strong>and</strong> gas development on the outer continental shelf of <strong>Alaska</strong> is<br />

scheduled to begin in the near future <strong>and</strong> proceed over the next decade.<br />

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has charged the Outer Continental<br />

Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) with initiation of<br />

research contracts designed to elucidate biological <strong>and</strong> physical/chemical<br />

processes in the areas of proposed oil <strong>and</strong> gas development. The<br />

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