ALASKA’S KING CRAB
IRDUSTRY IN DANGER
King Crab fishing and processing is increasingly valuable
to the State of Alaska. But there are two major threats to this
new industry, either one of which could wipe ou its potential
value to Alaska’s economic future.
The Japanese, and Russians have moved huge crab fleets
into the wateri oflFAfteska this season. Wakefield Fisheries sent
its boat Jeannette F to Bristol Bay to investigate these fleets in
July. There were over ’no tangle net boats and draggers, almost
all of them far bigger *ban anv fish boat flying the American
flag. There is no international agreement restricting the activi
ties of these fleets hi Alaska waters in any way, so long as they
stay outside the narrow three mile limit. It will be very sur
prising if units of these fleets are not working the crab grounds
of the peninsula, Shumagins, Kodiak and Cook Inlet next season.
Only a strong U.S. King Crab fishery, united and backed
by government and public support, can hope to stand up against
this type of competition, on the grounds or in the market. Yet
short-sighted, discriminatory and unfair regulations now being
proposed to the Alaska Fisheries Board would so hamstring our
Alaskan fishermen and packers as to make them impotent
against the foreign invasion.
Pot string limits, no dragging except the use of small nets
for bait, and area licensing can not be justified on conservation
grounds. In fact, the research program on King crab, which was
started with funds jointly contributed by the Alaska Department
of Fish and Game and by Wakefield Fisheries, plus some work
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has not yet reached the
point where it is clear just what, if any, conservation regulations
are needed in addition to those already on the books, such as
the ban on tangle nets, the prohibition against taking female and
immature crabs, the closure of dragging when the crabs are soft
during the molting and mating cycle.
The new regulations now proposed will have only one
major effect—to keep the industry weak, small, inefficient and
non-competitive. Katchemak Bay has such regulations now. The
average fisherman’s earnings there is only a small fraction of the
Kodiak, Sand Point, King Cove average.
Wakefield Fisheries has three large, efficient King crab
fishing boats which are based on the port of Seattle. It is at
such boats and their crews, pioneers and builders of the industry,
that these new restrictions are primarily aimed.
But fishing regularly for Wakefield Fisheries are more
than ten times that many Alaska-owned based and crewed boats.
Though averaging smaller than the Seattle boats, almost without
exception they own and need far more than 30 pots per boat,
and they own and need drag gear to maintain their earnings. The
fishermen on these boats are making money. The owners are
improving their boats and gear, paying off their mortgages,
have all put in adequate crab live tanks, etc. Many more Alaska
boats, who have been fishing King Crab for other packers, are
similarly situated. Does it make sense to cripple the earnings of
ten or fifteen Alaskans to spite one fellow-citizen from the state
of Washington?
To grow and develop, to put the state on a sound financial
footing, Alaska needs investment capital, plants, people from
the other 49 states, and must have friends and customers for its
products in the other 49 states. Can Alaska accomplish this by
trying to drive out those already here? Take our crab processing
► ship the Deep Sea for example. The commercial King Crab fish
ery dates from the first trip of the Deep Sea. A great many
of her crew are native-born Alaskans, some of whom have been
on her more than ten seasons. Ker success made it possible for
Wakefield Fisheries and other companies to create the growing
| crab market for Alaska boats and Alaska plant labor. Her con
tribution to the tax offers in Juneau is four times as high per
crab processed as that of a shore plant. Only harm to the future
of this new Alaska industry could come from restrictions which
would make it difficult or impossible for this ship to operate.
Regulations which seriously hamper the American King
Crab industry can, in effect, mean turning over both our markets
and our fishing grounds to the Russians and Japanese without
a fight.
Wakefield Fisheries is confident that the Fisheries Board,
when it meets shortly in Juneau to pass on the 1960 crab fishing
rgulations, will act justly and wisely.
E
WAKEFIELD
FISHERIES
Pert Wakefield,
Alaska
%
(M To Be Back
Says Storis Crew
By th* Officers and Crew
of the CG ship Storis
^he Storis is back and we of the
crew and officers are thankful for
such small things as smelling
green grass again, not to mention
seeing wives and families after
moe than two months in the Arc
tic.
Its not that ice isn’t pretty or
that it’s not fun to take pictures
of an Eskimo family, but one does
not appreciate civilization until
one has left it utterly and com
pletely.
This was not a long cruise. It
may have seemed long, especially
as in times when the “Arctic
Pack” closed around us. The wind
would blow harder and the ice
grind a little tighter. The nights
would get longer and the tempera
ture colder. There we were and
there we thought we would stay.
But eventually the ice loosened up
and the job would progress. The
weeks passed and the work was
gradually and finally finished.
We can say the trip was genuine
ly hard on our expectant fathers,
most of whom are no longer ex
pectant. They were very nervous,
and then one by one “all smiles”—
passing out handfuls of cigars.
The crew and the officers of the
Storis want to say this: We are
happy to be back and we hope
everyone is happy to Jiavc us back.
We know that many of us ap
preciated the band that welcomed
our arrival. It was the., perfect
touch to a perfect homecoming
welcome.
4000 Crab Tagged;
Will Study Habits
4,000 King Crabs have been tag
ged and released during the past
two weeks, according to an an
nouncement by Alaska Depart
ment of Fish and Game Biologist
Guy C. Powell.
Every phase of the project pro
gressed excellently, according to
Powell. Tagging was done from
the Suzie Q. A record of 1100
crabs were tagged in one day,
All 4,000 crabs tagged were cap
tured off the South end of Long
Island, Chiniak Bay in about 100
fathoms of water. 1100 crabs were
released in each of three areas
within Chiniak Bay, in St. Paul
Harbor at 12 fathoms; Kalsin Bay
at 20 fathoms; and ok the South
end of Long Island at 87 fathoms.
About 100 tagged crabs were re
tained in live boxes for observa
tion, according to the biologist,
and about 600 were released in
Sheratin Bay for migration
studies.
All fishe-Turn are urged to co
operate by turning in all tagged
crabs (the entire crab is needed)
to Guy Powell, Alaska Depart
ment of Fish and Game, phone
5324.
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