Underwater research conducted in Kodiak Island waters has shown that areas closed to bottom trawling have dense sea whip groves that harbor 33% more juvenile Tanner crab than adjacent areas subject to trawling where sea whips are sparse. (Stone R., M. Masuda & P. Malecha. 2005. Effects of bottom trawling on soft sediment epibenthic communities in the Gulf of Alaska. In: Benthic Habitats and the Effects of Fishing. Am. Fish. Soc. Symposium 41. pp. 461-475.) These findings reinforce concerns held by Kodiak Island fishermen that a focused effort is needed to more effectively protect vulnerable crab populations and their habitat.

Making Maps to Tell the Story

AMCC has been working with fishermen to develop local knowledge maps about Tanner crab. The objective of the mapping project is to locate areas important to crab and to identify places that may need protection from bottom trawl gear. Twenty–one crab fishermen in Kodiak and Old Harbor participated in compiling the maps to show both historic and recent knowledge about where the crab live. A series of four meetings took place with 4–6 fishermen per group. Each fisherman was asked to travel back through years of Tanner fishing and record what they saw on navigational charts. The fishermen believe these areas to be important for a variety of reasons including crab brooding or rearing, aggregations of juvenile crab and high yield of adult crab.These grounds prove time and again to be a preferred habitat where crab will continually return, as confirmed by the Kodiak Island Tanner crab trawl surveys conducted every year by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Overall, crab fishermen participating in the mapping project voiced great concern about crab bycatch and increased waste that may result from potentially expanding bottom trawl activity. Most felt that the existing no trawl zones around Kodiak are not large enough to protect Tanner crab. Crabbers are also concerned that the existing level of monitoring by on-board observers is too limited and the data is not an accurate picture of crab bycatch. Improved observer coverage, particularly in areas known to contain high crab populations, would greatly enhance accuracy of the bycatch data.

Areas Important to Tanner Crab

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 Proposed Bottom Trawl Closures to Protect Tanner Crab

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