Bracing for the economic fallout after the collapse of the Bering Sea crab season

Crabbers in the Bering Sea are facing potential economic disaster.

In October of this year, Alaska officials canceled the winter snow crab harvest in the Bering Sea. And for the second year in a row, they also nixed the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest.

Back in October, Soundside spoke to Jon Speltz, the co-owner of Wild Salmon Seafood Market located in Ballard's fisherman terminal. He speculated that we could see red king crab prices quadruple or quintuple — as expensive as $50 a pound.

However, his biggest concern was for the fishermen he works with.

"We'll be fine and we'll make it through but, our partners in all of this are fishermen," Speltz said. "And certainly this is going to be hugely devastating for the craft, you know, some of them will be able to make it through and some will be going out of business."

That’s a sentiment echoed by Washington officials.

Last month, Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray co-signed a letter, along with Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. They urged the secretary of commerce to declare a federal fishery disaster. The letter notes the huge economic impact this canceled season will have on fisheries. The state of Alaska estimates losses for this season and next to be $287.7 million

The letter also says: “the longer the disaster declaration and funding process takes, the greater the impact on our fishermen who are already facing incredibly difficult decisions that could include closing their businesses or filing for bankruptcy this year.”

Those lawmakers are still waiting on a federal disaster declaration.

So, where has that left fishermen?

Jamie Goen is the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, which represents around 350 people and a fleet of 60 vessels. She joined Soundside to talk about what they're seeing now.

Goen will be taking part in a panel discussion in Anchorage hosted by The Pulitzer Center, Anchorage Musuem, Anchorage Daily News, and The Seattle Times.

It's titled "Boom and Bust in the Bering Sea: The Fate of Crab and Sockeye Salmon in a Warming World." The event is in-person, with a virtual option.

To get the Zoom link, you must pre-register here.