Big season for big crab in Norton Sound

The 2012-13 Norton Sound winter king crab season ends at noon Wednesday, and boy has it been a good one.

"Congratulations to Norton Sound commercial fishermen on the best winter crab season in our area's history," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a news release. "To date, the commercial catch this season of over 19,600 crabs is more than twice the previous record of 9,625 crabs caught during the first winter commercial season of 1977-78."

The price also has been record-setting at an average of $6.67 per pound.

At least 25 crabbers have made deliveries.