Southeast Alaska’s red king crab fishery delivered its most economically successful season on record this fall, with 205,607 pounds harvested worth more than $5.3 million in ex-vessel value to fishermen through early December.

At an average price well above historical levels — roughly $26 per pound — the 2025 season’s preliminary value far exceeded previous openings, making it the most valuable red king crab fishery on record for Southeast Alaska.

The fishery, which opened Nov. 1 across multiple management areas in northern Southeast, marked the region’s first opening since 2017 and saw 52 permit holders participate.

“I think overall, it went well,” said Adam Messmer, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game regional shellfish biologist in Petersburg.

The season came on the heels of summer stock assessment surveys that showed regional legal male biomass increased 55% from 2024 estimates.

The department divided Southeast Alaska into 10 separate management areas for 2025, compared to five areas used in the last opening in 2017. The subdivision was designed to spread harvest pressure and prepare for potential future management under an individual catch limit system.

Several areas showed the characteristic boom-and-bust fishing patterns of red king crab, an aggregating species that can be challenging to locate but highly productive once found.

Seymour Canal exemplified this pattern. With a guideline harvest level of 44,705 pounds, the area ultimately yielded 73,767 pounds before closing with nine hours’ notice on Nov. 4. Twenty-two permit holders participated.

Northern Chatham Strait saw similar results, with nine permit holders harvesting 16,924 pounds against a 6,133-pound guideline before the area closed on Nov. 6.

The $5.3 million preliminary value represents a dramatic increase from past red king crab fisheries. Even in years with substantially larger harvests — the fishery ranged from 1 million to over 9 million pounds in the 1990s and 2000s — ex-vessel values rarely exceeded $2 million to $3 million.

Several fishermen returned tagged crab during the season, contributing to the department’s ongoing research on crab growth and movement patterns. Messmer reported receiving six or seven tags with location data from Gambier and Seymour, adding to a multi-year tagging study.

Understanding Southeast-specific growth rates could prove valuable for stock modeling. “I think each of these bays, the crab grow differently,” Messmer said.

Whether Southeast sees another red king crab fishery in 2026 depends entirely on summer survey results, which won’t be available until September. The department conducts surveys aboard the research vessel Medeia from early July through mid-August across seven areas in northern Southeast Alaska.