PETERSBURG — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced August 15, that the 2017/2018 commercial Dungeness crab fall fishing season in Registration Area A (Southeastern Alaska) will be reduced in duration. All waters open to commercial Dungeness fishing in Southeastern Alaska will open at 8:00 a.m. on Sun., October 1, 2017 and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Tues., October 31, 2017.
In accordance with the Southeastern Alaska Dungeness Crab Management Plan [5 AAC 32.146(3)], the department has completed an analysis of the incidence of legal-size male soft-shelled crabs caught early in the summer season. Based on data from port sampling and fish tickets, the department has determined that the proportion of legal-size male soft-shelled Dungeness crabs discarded during the first week of the summer season was above the previous three-year average, but the amount was not a contributing factor in failing to meet the 2.25 million pound harvest projection threshold described in the Southeastern Alaska Dungeness Crab Management Plan. Therefore, per 5 AAC 32.146(2)(B), the commercial Dungeness crab fall fishing season in Southeastern Alaska will be open for 30 days.
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