Snow crab shortage: Billions of snow crab

Snow crab shortage: Billions of snow crab

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The Alaskan government has cancelled the snow crab fishing season in the Bering Sea for this year due to severely low population levels.

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The decision comes after a dramatic and mysterious decline in the crab population, which is a blow to the state's crab industry, a significant contributor to Alaska's economy and a major supply of seafood worldwide.

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In addition to being fished in Alaska's coastal waters and other cold marine areas, snow crabs, a big crustacean with enormous legs, are endemic to the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

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In order to prevent a species from going extinct entirely, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) constantly checks crab populations and, if populations are too low, can close a fishing season.

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The department also ended the blue king crab season on Saint Matthew Island, the red and blue king crab season in Pribilof, and the red king crab season in Bristol Bay in addition to the Bering Sea snow crab season.

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The Bering Sea, a body of water spanning western Alaska and far-eastern Russia, has experienced an increase in water temperature recently.

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Younger snow crabs need cooler water than older crabs, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)