Red king crab yes, snow crab no

After a two-year hiatus, the Bristol Bay red king crab crab fishery will reopen Oct. 15 with a modest quota of 2.15 million pounds.

The Bering Sea snow crab fishery will remain closed for the second consecutive season. This year's bottom trawl survey showed snow crab mature female and commercial-size male abundance is at an all-time low, scientists say.

The Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab fishery will open Oct. 15 with a quota of 2.08 million pounds.

Crab quotas are out!

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today posted quotas for major crab fisheries opening Oct. 15.

The Bristol Bay red king crab total allowable catch (TAC) is 4.3 million pounds, down 35 percent from last season.

The Bering Sea snow crab TAC is 27.6 million pounds, up 45 percent.

The Bering Sea bairdi TAC is 2.4 million pounds, down 2 percent.

Snow crab cut 12 percent

This season's Bering Sea snow crab quota is 18.96 million pounds, down 12 percent from last season.

The fishery opens at noon Oct. 15, but the industry typically waits until after the first of the year to take snow crab.

Fishery managers also have set a modest quota of 2.5 million pounds for Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab. The bairdi fishery was closed last season.

Council to consider catch limits and much more

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will hold its most important meeting of the year this week in Anchorage.

The 11-member council, which helps regulate federal fisheries off Alaska, will set 2015 catch limits for pollock, cod and other groundfish.

The panel also has quite a few other items on its agenda.

One that caught my eye is this enforcement report from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Aleutians golden king crab quotas stay steady

The state today announced Aleutian Islands golden king crab quotas totaling 6.29 million pounds for the 2013-14 season opening Aug. 15.

The quotas match those of last season.

More details in this Department of Fish and Game announcement.

Here come the crab quotas

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has begun announcing Bering Sea crab quotas for the upcoming season, and the early news isn't good.

The bairdi Tanner crab fishery will remain closed again this season due to weak stocks. Here's the announcement.

Likewise, the Pribilof District red and blue king crab fisheries will remain closed. Details here.

Presumably, the department soon will announce quotas for the state's two most valuable crab fisheries, Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab.