In the fall of 2005, an IFQ program known as “Crab Rationalization” was implemented in the crab fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands of Alaska. This program has resulted in intense consolidation within the crabbing industry, and after just one year, has emerged as an unmitigated disaster for coastal communities and the environment.

Job losses within the crabbing industry are unprecedented. In the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, Alaska’s most lucrative crab resource, an estimated 1,150 jobs have been lost in one year alone. This has burdened not only individuals in the crab industry, but the coastal businesses that previously served those individuals.

Another serious flaw within the program was the establishment of processor quota shares, which resulted in the allocation of 90 percent of the total allowable catch to just 12 corporate processors. Now processors tell fishermen and women when to fish, how much to bring in, and how much they will receive for their catch.

Because processors often won’t except crab with superficial flaws, perfectly marketable crab is frequently thrown back into the sea after being caught due to minor shell scratches or discoloration. In the year since the fishery was privatized, an estimated 5.8 million red king crabs were discarded, with approximately 20 percent of these dying from trauma. This IFQ program has led to a more than six-fold increase in the amount of edible crab discarded when compared to the annual average in the preceding six years.

We deserve better than this failed management tool that has harmed fishing communities and the ocean environment. Click here to read more about the failures of individual fishing quotas.

Watch This Video

Check out these interviews of Bering Sea fishers affected by crab rationalization on YouTube.