A Bottom Trawl Survey for Tanner Crab in Prince William Sound, 2020
A Bottom Trawl Survey for Tanner Crab in Prince William Sound, 2020

Author: Wyatt J. Rhea-Fournier

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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A large-mesh bottom trawl survey of Tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi was conducted in 2020 in the Prince William Sound Area (PWSA; Registration Area E) with the objective of establishing protocols for generating Tanner crab abundance estimates for a newly established survey area. New survey areas in PWSA were developed to assess new commercial fishery districts that were proposed at the 2021 Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting. Proposed fishery districts encompass historical fishing areas and areas fished in the recent commissioner’s permit fishery. Methodology from the historical PWSA trawl survey was applied to develop new trawl stations with the goal of calculating catch per unit effort (CPUE) to estimate abundance of historical legal size and legal-size male Tanner crab in the surveyed area. The 2020 survey produced a CPUE for male Tanner crab that were of the historical legal size of 28.4 crab per nmi2, which was the third lowest observation for any Alaska Department of Fish and Game trawl survey in the PWSA. The estimated abundance of historical legal-size male Tanner crab was 8,214 crab in the survey area, and the estimated abundance for legal-size male Tanner crab was 35,920 crab in the survey area.

Customary and Traditional Use Worksheet, King Crab and Tanner Crab, Prince William Sound Management Area
Customary and Traditional Use Worksheet, King Crab and Tanner Crab, Prince William Sound Management Area

Author: Alaska. Department of Fish and Game. Division of Subsistence

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 23

ISBN-13:

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This worksheet was prepared for the Alaska Board of Fisheries as background for consideration of changes to the noncommercial harvest regulations for crabs in the Prince William Sound management area of Alaska, with a primary focus on the communities of Chenega Bay, Cordova, Tatitlek, Valdez, and Whittier. It presents the eight criteria that the Board of Fisheries is required to consider under Joint Board of Fisheries and Game regulations (5 AAC 99.010) in order to identify fish stocks that are customarily and traditionally taken or used by Alaska residents for subsistence uses.

Prince William Sound Tanner Crab Commercial Fishery Harvest Strategy Recommendations and Proposed Assessment, 2022
Prince William Sound Tanner Crab Commercial Fishery Harvest Strategy Recommendations and Proposed Assessment, 2022

Author: Wyatt J. Rhea-Fournier

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13:

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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has developed a Tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi commercial fishery harvest strategy recommendation with an associated trawl survey assessment for the Prince William Sound Area (PWSA). Methods for developing this harvest strategy follow the approach in the Registration Area E Tanner crab harvest strategy, and methods for developing the survey assessment follow the approach for the historical ADF&G PWSA large-mesh bottom trawl survey. New areas have been proposed and defined within the PWSA with minimum abundance thresholds to open a commercial fishery and harvest rates specific to each area. A bottom trawl survey has been designed for each of the areas to estimate the abundance of Tanner crab and assess if the minimum abundance threshold has been met. Trawl surveys have been completed in 2 of the areas occurring in 2020 and 2021 with results indicating that the abundance estimate does not meet the minimum abundance threshold to open a commercial fishery for Tanner crab in those 2 areas. These recommendations will provide the basis for ADF&G proposals to be submitted at the November 2021 Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting and will inform commercial fishery management decisions in 2022.