Today's Main Story: Southeast Alaska Dungeness season one of best on record, says ADF&G
The Southeastern Alaska summer commercial Dungeness crab season closes today, and it was among the most successful in recent history said the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Preliminary summer season totals peg the harvest at around 4-million pounds; a 142% increase from last summer’s catch and the highest since 2002. Fishermen also benefited from a relatively high ex-vessel price of around $3 per pound. Together, the strong prices and catch yielded a total fishery value of around $11-million making the summer 2014 season one of the most lucrative in history.
In other news out of the Alaskan crab industry, the state’s golden king crab fishery gets underway today. This year’s harvest will be capped at just over 6 million pounds. However, crabbers will work with fishery managers to conduct the biggest survey ever done on the entire range of the stock, which could result in a higher TAC in the future.
Russia is now taking measures to mitigate seafood shortages across its domestic market in the wake of its ban on seafood imports from the EU and elsewhere. As grocery store shelves run out of seafood, the Russian government is streamlining its fish inspection system, slashing deadlines for paperwork and coordinating better supply chain arrangements with domestic seafood suppliers and retailers.
Finally, a state run project will encourage Louisiana seafood processors to focus on producing high-quality shrimp and other seafood products that appeal to high-end consumers. Alaska’s approach to seafood production and marketing serve as a model for the project said Thomas Hymel an agent with the LSU AgCenter and Sea Grant.
Have a good weekend.
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