The crab days of Kodiak: despite the King Crab's loss of the crown, this 10-legged gent reigns over Kodiak May 21-25.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Kodiak Island, Alaska

KODIAK - More than 40 years ago, the residents of Kodiak Island gathered for the first time to celebrate spring and the abundance of their natural fisheries resource - the crab.

Thus the annual Kodiak Crab Festival was born.

"It started in the crab's heyday," said Deb Milam, crab festival manager for the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce. "When crab was abundant."

Historically, the red king crab fishery has been Alaska's top shellfish producer. Since statehood in 1959, U.S. fishers have harvested nearly two billion pounds of red king crab from Alaskan waters, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. With a price tag now at $1.6 billion, the Alaska red king crab, as the most-valuable species to Alaska fishers, ranks only second to Sockeye (red salmon).

In most recent years, however, the fisheries around Kodiak are increasingly relying on salmon and groundfish. The groundfish fishery, primarily pollock and cod, has become lucrative for Kodiak. From 1986 to 1996, the wholesale value of this fishery has increased from $23.5 million to more than $102.1 million.

Despite the economics, it is the 10-footed crab that reigns as superfish during the annual spring festivities, luring about 5,000 visitors to the island. The celebration is also staged in the crab fishermen's honor, who are revered for their dangerous and often back-breaking work that involves long hours on rugged seas, lugging in heavy pots and seemingly endless coils of lines.

A well-attended festival event is the blessing...