The alaska department of fish and game is seeking support for field research of bering sea red king crab for a project from march 1, 2023 - february 29, 2024

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will receive $828,000 through a Cooperative Agreement award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Pacific Fisheries Data Program (CFDA 11.437) from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. The Department will conduct field research on Bering Sea red king crab to understand seasonal movements and population distributions in Bristol Bay. This will involve tagging and surveying red king crab to provide updated data to inform the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council's evaluation of protective measures. The research aims to determine if current fishery closure areas are sufficient or if additional closures are needed to improve stock recovery by reducing bycatch impacts in groundfish fisheries. The project supports conservation and management of Bering Sea crab stocks through applied research focused on habitat use and fishery interactions.

The north pacific fisheries management COUNCIL (COUNCIL) has been reevaluating protective measures for bristol BAY red king crab; however, because red king crab distributions are only well documented in the summer, IT has been difficult for the COUNCIL to determine whether current closure areas are adequate or if additional closure areas are needed to improve the likelihood of population recovery through the reduction of bycatch in groundfish fisheries. This is high priority research for bering sea crab, given the conservation and socioeconomic urgency, with a focus on improving stock recovery through research on updated seasonal distribution and reducing fishing impacts. This project would be conducted by tagging and surveying red king crab to understand movements and relative population distribution in bristol BAY. This project