Alaska's multi-use shellfish economy: Alaska waters filled with a bounty of shellfish.

• Author: Vick, Gale K.
• Position: FISHING

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For centuries, the indigenous cultures of coastal Alaska utilized shellfish for food, tools, decoration and trade. Modern Alaskans are not much different. While "The Deadliest Catch" may be capturing the imaginations of millions of people with its drama about commercial crabbing in the Bering Sea, both commercial and personal use of shellfish in all Alaska waters captures something much more important to Alaskans--sustenance and opportunity.

With the dramatic exception of the red king crash in the 1980s, shellfish, like other fisheries in Alaska, are remarkably well-managed. The waters of the North Pacific contain a large assortment of multi-use sustainable shellfish fisheries. A variety of crustacea (crab and shrimp) and mollusks (bivalves and cephalopods) make up a significant part of Alaska's commercial, mariculture, personal use and subsistence fishing. This includes several species of crab, shrimp, scallops, oysters, clams, geoducks, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea snails, octopus and squid. (See sidebar.) The value of these resources runs in the multi-millions every year.

As with all fisheries in the North Pacific, shellfish management in Alaska is complicated. Both the federal government and the State of Alaska have specific and shared jurisdiction when it comes to commercial shellfish management and subsistence use.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages personal/recreational use and shellfish mariculture.

COMMERCIAL USE

Commercially caught Alaska crab is world-famous, thanks to both the reputation of the product and television. Since the crash of red king crab stocks in the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea is the primary source of commercially caught king crab but there also are commercial crab fisheries for bairdi Tanner crab, Dungeness crab and golden king crab in parts of the Gulf. The annual TAC (total allowable catch) for commercial crab harvest is set by the Alaska Board of Fisheries in conjunction with the National Marine Fisheries Service trawl surveys. Bering Sea crab is now managed under a controversial quota-share system.

Harvest methodologies widely vary. Commercial crabbing in the Bering Sea is done with heavy steel pots, off-loaded from large vessels, requiring very expensive investments and many crew. In contrast, commercial dive fisheries are done by hand in depths of around 70 feet. Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) reports that an experienced diver can harvest a geoduck, for example, every 30 seconds. There are many variations in between.

The aggregate 2007 ex-vessel value of Alaska's commercial shellfish fisheries was $132.8 million from a total poundage of 65.2 million pounds. Commercially caught shrimp account for almost $1 million and miscellaneous commercial shellfish account for $3.44 million. The majority catch was crab.

Like finfish and groundfish, Alaska's commercial shellfish industry has been on a rollercoaster for about 100 years. Since statehood in 1959, nearly 2 billion pounds of red king crab worth $1.6 billion was harvested from Alaska waters. In its history of Prince William Sound, Cordova District Fisherman United (CDFU)...