BERING STRAIT SUBSISTENCE KING CRAB FISHERY
UPDATE
BY
Jim Magdanz and Annie Olanna
Technical Paper No. 117
Division of Subsistence
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Nome
March 1985
ABSTRACT
This report documents subsistence crab fishing in the Bering Strait
area, a continuing project by the Division of Subsistence that began in
1980. A large vessel commercial crab fishery was introduced in the area
in 1977. Subsequently, subsistence crab harvests began declining. In
1983, commercial vessels reportedly disrupted subsistence seal hunting
activities near St. Lawrence Island.
The Board of Fisheries has attempted to-minimize the conflict and
provide for continuing subsistence opportunities by adjusting commercial
crabbing seasons, commercial harvests, and creating closed waters. In
1984, the Board created a new St. Lawrence -Island section, distinct from
the St. Matthew section.
Division of Subsistence surveys of a sample of 38 households in
Gambell and Savoonga revealed average to slightly above average .effort
and harvest in 1984. The 1984 average household harvests were 81.4 crab
at Gambell and 23.5 crab at the Kookoolik, near Savoonga. In 1984, only
one or two commercial crab vessels sailed to the new section to fish
commercially. No commercial harvest was reported. C,onsequently, the
conflict between subsistence seal hunters and commercial vessels was not
repeated.
Commercial crabbing has been open for eight years in the Norton
Sound and St. Lawrence Island sections. It would appear that a balance
may be emerging between the reproduction of local crab populations, on
the one hand, and the harvests of crab by commercial and subsistence
crabbers, on the other.
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Research Problem Methodology
VILLAGE CRAB HARVESTS IN 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Gambell Savoonga
SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
APPENDIX 1. PROTOCOL FOR VILLAGE CRAB SURVEY.......................15
APPENDIX 2. 1984 SUBSISTENCE HARVESTS -- RAW DATA..................16 Gambell Savoonga
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
ii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. The Southern Portion of the St. Lawrence Island Section of the Northern District of Statistical Area Q (Bering Sea)..... 3
Figure 2. Average Annual Catch Per House and Average Daily Catch Per House in Gambell from 1975 to 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 3. Average Annual Catch Per House and Average Daily Catch Per House on the North Side of St. Lawrence Island by Savoonga Crabbers from 1975 to 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i3
iii
INTRODUCTION
Red and blue king crab have long been a part of the winter diet in
Norton Sound and Bering Strait villages. They usually are caught
through the sea ice using weighted lines, pots, or hoops. Crab can make
a substantial contribution to local diets. The average permit holder in
Nome caught 125 crab in 1978.
In 1977, the Board of Fisheries introduced a summer commercial red
king crab fishery in Norton Sound. Attracting large vessels- from Dutch
Harbor; Kodiak, and Seattie, the fishery initially was very promising.
But after two years of increasing commercial harvests, a 1979 National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) trawl survey produced evidence of a
declining population. The commercial guideline harvests were reduced.
The 1982 harvest was less than i0 percent of the 1979 harvest. By 1980,
subsistence harvests were declining as well. Annual catch per household
in Nome, for example, dropped to an average of I7 crab in 1981. Crab
harvests in other area villages dropped sharply. In some years in some
villages, virtually no crab .were harvested.
Both the Division of Commercial Fisheries and the Division of
Subsistence intensified research on Norton Sound and Bering Strait crab.
Special attention was paid to the -previously undocumented village
subsistence crab fishery. This report is the fifth in a series of
technical papers documenting the subsistence fishery.
For the first time since 1980, there are no proposals before the
Board of Fisheries designed specifically to alter management of the
summer commercial fishery in either the Norton Sound or the St. Lawrence
Island sections. The red king crab population in Norton Sound, although
1
depressed, appears healthy. In most villages, subsistence crab harvests
are improving. Nome harvests in 1983 and 1984 approximate 1977 levels.
A balance may have been achieved between the productivity of the crab
population and the harvests of the subsistence and commercial fisheries.
In 1984, the Board of Fisheries heard reports from Gambell crabbers
of a conflict between subsistence seal hunters and the commercial crab
fleet, which aggravated the conflict between subsistence crabbers. and
the fleet (Magdanz and Olanna 1984:33-34). The Board increased the
waters closed to commercial fishing around St. Lawrence Island, Diomede
Island, and King Island. It created a St. Lawrence Island section in
.the Northern District of the Bering Sea (Fig. 1). The Boa,rd requested
that the Division of Subsistence continue to monitor the situation, and
report its findings during the 1985 shellfish meeting. This is the
division's report.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
For this report, researchers focused on the newly created St. Lawrence
Island section. Blue king crab are the predominant species. In past
years, the commercial fleet has been most active in waters north and
west of St. Lawrence Island. Little activity has been reported around
Diomede Island and King Island sir&e 1981. The potential for conflict,
therefore, is greatest near the villages of Gambell and Savoonga on St.
Lawrence Island.
2
-- _
AREA CLOSED TO COMMERCIAL CRABBING
Figure 1. The Southern Portion of the St. Lawrence Island Section of the Northern District of Statistical Area Q (Bering Sea). The map shows the location of the villages of Gambell and Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island, where Subsistence crabbing surveys were conducted in 1984.
3
The purpose of this report is to extend the baseline of harvest
data for both Gambell and Savoonga, to note any significant changes in
the fishery, and to report on any conflicts between user groups.
METHODOLOGY
In 1980, Dan Thomas identified Norton Sound and Bering Strait villages
where crabbing regularly occurs. He visited each of those villages,
interviewed key informants about the history of the fishery, surveyed
samples of the village populations to determine harvest levels, and
published his results of his investigations (Thomas 1981). Subsequently., ,
the division selected key villages and administered surveys in 1981,
1982, 1983, and 1984.
Village harvest data for this update were gathered during house to
house visits in Gambell and Savoonga. Researchers were guided by a
protocol 'of questions (see Appendix 1) and recorded answers in field
notes. Respondents who did not crab were asked only two questions and
the sessions might be relatively brief. The entire protocol was used
with respondents who had fished both handlines and pots for several
months. Some interviews went beyond simple recitation of harvests.
When interviews provided data pertinent to the study, those data were
included in the findings below.
Savoonga and Gambell are large villages with approximately 400 to
500 residents, respectively. There are 90 to 100 households in each
village. When Thomas conducted the initial crab surveys, he selected 30
per cent samples of the households in Savoonga and Gambell. In
4
subsequent years, researchers have attempted to contact these same
households.
Because only a sample is contacted, the raw survey totals do not
represent the total effort and harvest for either village. Actual
totals are three to four times greater (depending on the number of
households available at the time of the survey). Researchers chose not
to extrapolate the survey totals, Instead, researchers computed average
effort and harvest statistics on the household level. This produces
comparable annual statistics with less risk of error than extrapolation.
The average. daily catch .per house also compensates for intangible
factors like weather and ice conditions.
Analysis of the survey data was relatively simple. Totals were
calculated for the harvest for each gear type, the number of houses
using each gear type, and the number of days reported for each gear
type0 Data from houses that could not remember either harvest or number
of days were temporarily set aside. The following statistics were
computed:
1. The total harvest for handlines was divided by the number of
houses using handlines, to obtain the average annual catch per
house for handlines.
2. The total harvest for pots was divided by the number of houses
using pots to obtain the average annual catch per house for pots.
3. The total harvest reported for both pots and handlines was
divided by the number of houses that crabbed to obtain the average
5
annual catch per house. This statistic was graphed for each
village in the findings section.
4. The total harvest for handlines was divided by the number of
days reported by handline users, to obtain the average daily catch
per house for handlines.
5. The total harvest for pots was divided by the number of days
reported by pot users, to obtain the average daily catch per house
for pots.
6. The total harvest for both pots and handljnes was divided by
the number of days reported to obtain the average daily catch per
house. This statistic was graphed for each village in the findings
section.
After these statistics were computed, the harvest totals were
adjusted by adding data from houses that could not remember their
harvest or the number of days they crabbed. In cases where the harvest
was supplied, but not the days, the harvest for the case was divided by
the average daily catch for other crabbers in that village, and the
result was added to the village's "days" total.. In cases where the
response to a query about days or harvest was "a few", the value "2" was
substituted. The value "3" was substituted for "several". Adjusted
totals were then figured. The extrapolations are used only to compute
adjusted harvest and effort totals, not to compute the average catch per
house statistics.
6
Findings were arranged by village. The presentation is the same for
each village. The narrative describes the 1984 harvest totals,
participation (number of houses crabbing), effort (number of days
crabbed), the statistical averages, and comments villagers had about
crabbing, ice conditions, weather, regulations, or other features of
crabbing, The narrative offers comparisons between 1984 and previous
years.
VILLAGE CRAB HARVESTS IN 1984
Gambell
Gambell was surveyed by Thomas for his 1981 report, but was not surveyed
in 1982 and 1983 for budgetary reasons. Gambell surveys resumed with
the 1983 season, as reported in the 1984 update. For this 1985 update,
15 Gambell households were surveyed between November 28 and December 2,
1984. Researchers were in town to conduct a hearing on state resumption
of marine mammal management November 29. Both marine mammals and crabs
were topics during the house-to-house visits, which was appropriate
considering the hunter-crab boat ronflict reported in 1983. On the
other hand, this made the survey process much slower, and fewer houses
were contacted. This affected the total effort and harvest reported.
But the average harvests are figured on a household basis, and should be
minimally affected.
Of 15 surveyed households, nine houses reported catching
approximately 733 king crab in 1984. This compares with catches of.448
in 1983, 387 in 1982, and 542 in 1981 between 15-18 active houses
7
N 75
U M B E
Annual Average Catch Per Household
75 -/s .77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84
N U M B E R
0 F
C R A B
Average Daily Catch Per Household'
Figure 2. Average Annual Catch Per House (top) and Average Daily Catch Per House (bottom) in Gambell from 1975 to 1984. Nine of the fifteen Gambell houses sampled in the 1984 subsistence survey reported crabbing. The 1984 average annual catch per house (top) was 81.4 crab. The 1984 average daily catch per house was 4.9 crab. The nine houses reported harvesting approximately 733 crab.
surveyed in previous years. The nine houses reported crabbing 135 days,
a figure that was heavily influenced by one extremely active household,
which reported crabbing 80 days. Excluding this household, average
effort was still somewhat higher in 1984 than in 1983. However, levels
of effort in 1980 and 1979 were higher than the average effort in 1984
(Thomas, 1981).
The average annual catch per house in 1984 was 81.4 crab, compared
with 29.3 crab in 1983, 9.2 in 1982, 29.5 in l'981, 38.2 in 1980, and
65.6 in 1979 (Fig. 2). The average daily catch per house in 1984 was
-4.9 crab, UP slightly from 4.2 in 1983. The highest average daily catch
was in 1981, when 12.6 crab per day per house were reported. However,
those data may be inflated as they were based on two-year recall by a
small sample of houses. . In comparison with past years for which here
are data, 1984 harvests appeared to be average to slightly above
average.
Ice conditions were good. That is, the ice was stable and ice
rubble was not excessive. The woman-who reported crabbing 80 days said
she crabbed almost every day beginning in January; the ice was so thick
she opened her hole every day. She spent about two hours crabbing every
afternoon, catching five to seven crab with three or four handlines.
The most crab caught in a single day, she reported, was 20. Some days,
she caught none. Her extra crab were shared among the villagers.
Female crab, when caught,.were invariably full of eggs, crabbers
reported. There was nothing reported to be unusual about the crab
caught. There appeared to be a normal mix of large crab, small crab, and
skip-molts.
9
One man reported catching about 100 crab in July in a salmon net
off Southeast Cape. Having no way to store them, he released all but 20
(these summer-caught crab are not included in the statistics). The
females were full of eggs. This same individual attempted to fish with
a pot through the .ice near Gambell, but with little success. A 14-day
soak produced one crab. He used a large sculpin for bait. Pots are not
commonly used on St. Lawrence Island, -partly because the ice shifts
frequently and partly because few people have found them productive.
The conflict between the commercial fleet and seal hunters -- a
major issue in 1983 -- failed to materialize in 1984. The commercial
season in 1983 continued through September, which is the busy seal
hunting time. As the season in 1984 closed August 31, less conflict was
expected. But more important, only one or two boats sailed to the St.
Lawrence section at the close of the Norton Sound fishery .on August 15.
No catch was reported. Islanders did report seeing one boat on the
south side of the Island in August, but they did not see it fishing. By
the time seal hunting began, this boat had disappeared. No others were
observed.
Gambell residents were generally pleased with the Board's action to
change the season timing and to increase the closed waters around the
Island.
Savoonga
Twenty three Savoonga households were surveyed between October 8 and
October 12, 1984. Savoonga residents crab at two widely separated
areas: Kookoolik about five miles east of the village on the north side
10
of the island, and Powooiliak about 35 miles southwest of the village.
Kookoolik crabbing begins as soon as the ice settles (in January or
February) and continues throughout the season. Powooiliak crabbing
occurs only during the time of bowhead whaling (two or three weeks in
March and April). Because these two areas are far apart and because the
fisheries are quite different, data for Kookoolik and Powooiliak have
been considered separately in these reports.
Powooiliak
Crabbing effort at Powooiliak at Southwest Cape depends on activities
associated with whaling. If conditions are good for hunting, people
hunt.. If conditions are poor or whales are not available, some people
pass the time crabbing.
For the past three years, crabbing effort at Powooiliak has been
low. In 1984 only three houses reported crabbing during whaling camp.
One house crabbed 20,days, but estimated the catch totaled only five or
six crab. The other houses could not recall how many days they crabbed.
One estimated his catch at five or six crab, also. The other caught
none. Thus the total harvest of crab at Powooiliak in 1984 was ten to
twelve crab. The total harvests for previous years were 96 crab in
1983, 2 in 1982, and 298 in 1981. The number of houses crabbing were 5
in 1983, 2 in 1982, and 13 in 1981.
Average annual harvests and average daily harvests‘ for Powooiliak
are not shown. Considering how few. people crabbed in 1982, 1983, and
1984, The numbers of crab taken are relatively insignificant compared
with the harvests at Kookoolik.
11
Several of the people who camped at Powooiliak in 1984 said that crab
caught were smaller than in previous years.
Kookoolik
Crabbers at Kookoolik five miles east of Savoonga were more active and
more successful than at Southwest Cape. Still, 1984 was not the best
year reported. Some said that ice conditions were poor. Several said
it was -just too cold to crab.
Of 23 houses, six active households reported catching 165 crab in
1984 at Kookoolik. This compares with 23 in 1983, 823 in 1982, and 1 in
1981, caught by 6, 3, 20 and 7 households respectively. Effort among
the sampled houses in 1984 totaled 69 days, compared with 32 in 1983,
169 in 1982, and 24 in 1981.
The average annual catch per house was 23.5 crab in 1984. This was
greater than the 7.7 reported in 1983, but less than the 41.2 in 1982.
The average daily catch per house in 1984 was 2.1 crab. Daily averages
have ranged from 0.04 in 1981 to 4.6 in 1982. These data are presented
in Figure 3.
As in Gambell, there was one especially active crabber among the
sampled households, catching 107 crab in 17 days. He has continually
been one of the most intense crabbers at Savoonga. Crab in excess of
his needs are shared with other houses in the village.
12
N fii@
U M B E
R loo-
0 F
C
Average Annual Catch Per Household
75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 _. :’
N 20 U M
1 B Average Daily Catch Per Household '
E 7 R
0
F 70 'C 4 .
Figure 3. Average Annual Catch Per House (top) and Average Daily Catch Per House (bottom) on the North Side of St. Lawrence Island by Savoonga Crabbers from 1975 to 1984. Six of twenty three houses sampled in the 1984 subsistence survey reported crabbing. The 1984 average annual catch per house (top) was 23.5 crab. The 1984 average daily catch per house (bottom) was 2.1 crab. The six houses reported harvesting approximately 165 crab in 1984.
13
SUMMARY
Eight years have passed since the commercial crab fleet began exploring
for red and blue king crab in the northern Bering Sea. Since 1977,
management strategies have been adjusted based on new scientific
findings on crab distribution; abundance, reproduction, and harvests.
Commercial guideline harvests have been progressively reduced as crab
populations have declined. Near-shore closures and commercial harvests
reductions were imposed to help protect traditional subsistence crab
fisheries.
This year, only one local proposal has been submitted to change
commercial king crab regulations in the Norton Sound or the St. Lawrence
Island sections. Proposal number 90, from a Nome resident, would extend
the season for.winter commercial fishing. The winter fishery is small
and limited by ice conditions, so the proposal would have minimal impact
on total harvest.
Survey data from St. Lawrence Island indicate average to slightly
above average subsistence crab harvests in 1984. Subsistence -permit
data from Notie show similar catch success in the.Nome crab fishery.
Commercial harvests in the Norton Sound section have been gradually
increasing since 1982. The red king crab population appears to be
healthy and increasing. Commercial harvests in the St. Lawrence Island
section apparently did not occur in 1984. The intense commercial
exploration that occurred in 1983 apparently proved unprofitable for the
fleet. Given equal opportunity to fish the St. Lawrence Island section
and the Norton Sound section in 1984, virtually the entire fleet chose
to fish in Norton Sound. This decision by the fleet meant that there
14
was no conflict with subsistence seal hunting or crabbing activities on
St. Lawrence Island.
These findings suggest that a balance may be emerging between the
reproduction of local crab populations, on the one hand, and the
harvests of crab by commercial and subsistence users, on the other.
15
APPENDIX 1
PROTOCOL FOR VILLAGE CRAB SURVEY
The following protocol of questions was used in conducting the village crab surveys for the 1983 season. The questions were preceeded by a general introduction of the researcher and the project.
1. "Did you go crabbing last winter? (IF "NO", GO TO QUESTION 13)
2. "Where did you crab?
3. "What kind of gear did you use?
(ASK HANDLINE USERS)
4. "What months did you crab with handlines?
5. "How many trips did you make in (month 1, month 2, etc.)?
6. 'How many crab did you catch in (month 1, month 2, etc.)?
7. "How many hours did you usually stay out.when you crabbed?
(ASK POT USERS)
8. "What months did you set your pots?
9. "How many days were your pots.set in (month I, month 2, etc.)?
LO, 'How many crab did your pots catch in (month 1, month 2, etc.)?
(ASK ALL CRABBERS)
11. 'Were your crab larger, smaller or about the same as before?
12. 'Did you catch any females? Many eggs?
(ASK ALL RESPONDENTS)
13. "Do you have any comments about crabbing in general?"
16
APPENDIX 2
1984 SUBSISTENCE HARVESTS -- RAW DATA
Gambell
Gambell data were gathered in a house-to-house survey administered by
Magdanz between November 28 and December 2, 1984. Thomas contacted 30
houses in 1980, 25 were. contacted in 1983, and 15'were contacted in
1984. (See comments in Magdanz and Olanna 1984:56).
HOUSE HL DAYS* HL CRAB* .POT DAYS POT CRAB
02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Did not crab Did not crab, Did not crab
Did not crab Unidentified
No data Unidentified Unidentified Unidentified No data
No data No data
No data No data No data No data No data Did not crab No data Did not crab Unidentified Unidentified
1 13 20 "3-4/day"
2 7-8 2 29
7 14
25-50.
6 "3-4/day"
(continued)
* HL = Hand .ine
17
HOUSE HL DAYS HL CRAB POT DAYS POT CRAB
30 lo-25 50-100 31 80 "5-7/day" 32 No data 33 No data
TOTALS 118 DAYS 42 CRAB 14 DAYS 1 CRAB ADJ TOTALS 135 DAYS 733 CRAB
ADJUSTMENTS
House 30 reported crabbing lo-25 days, midpoint was 17 DAYS
House 05 reported 20 days with 3-4 crab/day- (20x3.5) 70 Crabs
House 08 reported 7-8 crab, midpoint was 7.5 Crabs
House 16 reported 25-50 crab, midpoint was 37.-S Crabs
House 19 reported 6 days with 3-4 crab/day (6x3.5) 21 Crabs
House 30 reported 50-100 crab midpoint was
House 31 reported 80 days with 5-7 crab/day (30x6)
Savoonga
75 Crabs
480 Crabs
Savoonga data were collected by Olanna between October 8 and October 12,
1984. Twenty three households were contacted; nine reported crabbing.
Kookoolik is on the north side of. St. Lawrence Island, approximately
five miles east of Savoonga. Powooiliak is on the south side of St.
Lawrence Island, near Southwest Cape.
HOUSE
KOOKOOLIK POWOOILIAK
DAYS CRAB DAYS CRAB
00 Not available 01 8-9 5-6 02 Did not crab 03 Did not crab, 04 20 5-6
(continued)
18
KOOKOOLIK PowooILIAK
HOUSE DAYS CRAB DAYS CRAB
05 ? 5-6
"Several"
06 5-6 0 07 Did not crab 08 Did not crab 09 Did not crab. 10 Not available 11 Did not crab -12 Not available 13. .Did not drab 14 Not available 15 Did not crab 16 Did not crab 17 18 Did not crab 19 Not available 20 Did not crab 21 Did not crab
-22 Did not crab 23 Not available 24 17 107 25 25 0 26 Did not crab 27 Not available 28 ? 3-5/day 29 2 5 30 Did not crab
0
TOTALS 44 DAYS 112 CRAB 20 DAYS 11CRAB ADJ TOTALS 69 DAYS 165 CRAB
Kookoolik Adjustments
House 01 reported 3-9 days, midpoint was 7.5 Days House 06 reported 56 days, midpoint was 5.5 Days House 28 did not report days, assigned average 12.0 Days
25.0 DAY:
House 01 reported 5-6 crab, midpoint was 5;5 Crab House 28 reported 3-5 crab/day, midpoint was 4 (12 x 4) 48.0 Crab
53.5 CRAB
19
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Magdanz, Jim
1983. Norton Sound - Bering Strait Subsistence King Crab Fishery Update. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence Technical Paper Number 82.
1982. Norton Sound - Bering Strait Subsistence King Crab Fishery Update. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence Technical Paper Number 6.
Magdanz, Jim and Annie Olanna
1984. Norton Sound - Bering Strait Subsistence King Crab Fishery Update. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence Technical Paper Number 101.
Schwarz, Len and Charles Lean
1983a. Nearshore Winter King Crab 'Study, Norton Sound. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries.
Schwarz, Len, Charles Lean, Joe Dinnocenzo, Brian Bigler and Sue Merkouris
1983b. .Annual Management Report 1983, Norton Sound-Port Clarence - Kotzebue. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries.
Thomas, Daniel C.
1981. Norton Sound-Bering Strait Subsistence King Crab Fishery. Nome: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence Technical Paper Number 12.
20