Bering Sea Dungeness crab season starts in May, officials predict good harvests

The commercial season for Dungeness crab in the North Peninsula District opens May 1, and officials say this year’s harvest trajectory looks good. The individual pot limit for the area this year is 500 per vessel. Ethan Nichols is the groundfish and shellfish area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Dutch Harbor. He said with harvests increasing since 2020, participation in the fishery has followed. “In 2022, 16 vessels harvested 2.8 million pounds of Dungeness out of the North Peninsula District, which that year made...