Bering Sea snow crab quota surges by 64 percent

Yesterday brought bad news on Bristol Bay red king crab, historically the state's most valuable crab crop.

Today comes good news on another major fishery, Bering Sea snow crab.

The total allowable catch for the upcoming season is 88.9 million pounds, up 64 percent from last season's 54.3 million pounds.

The season opens at noon Oct. 15, but typically the fleet waits until after the first of the year to take most of the crab.

Here's a press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.