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Alaska Fishing·News desk

Southeast red king crab opens Nov. 1 as a competitive fishery, GHL 213,076 lb

Alaska FishingAlaska

Southeast Alaska’s commercial red king crab pots go back in the water this fall. An Alaska Department of Fish and Game advisory announcement dated Sept. 2, 2026 says the 2026/27 Southeast commercial red and blue king crab fishery will open as a competitive fishery at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. The regionwide guideline harvest level is 213,076 pounds. A follow-up announcement was to detail area GHLs, fishery areas, and registration; pot tags, logbook packets, and registrations were scheduled to be available in area offices after Sept. 11. Contact is Region I shellfish biologist Adam Messmer in Douglas.

KFSK in Petersburg reported Sept. 4 that this is the second consecutive commercial opener after several dark years — Messmer said the first back-to-back fisheries since 2001–03. The region needs at least 200,000 pounds of harvestable crab to open; this year’s GHL sits just over that line and a bit above last year. ADF&G surveys seven bays. Messmer told KFSK three bays look promising, last year’s pots found bright spots outside the survey boxes, and more legal-size crab showed up after last year’s pre-recruits molted in. Undersized crab coming up behind them are thinner this time.

Last year’s reopened fishery, KFSK reported, was valued at nearly $5.4 million — more than the previous two decades combined. Of 59 red king crab permits in the region, 51 holders sold crab. Messmer expected similar participation. Area harvest caps were slated to differ from last year, some higher and some lower. Confirm the live ADF&G commercial announcements before you tag pots.

Photo: Angela Denning / Coast Alaska (red king crab in a tote near Petersburg, September 2025, via KFSK).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: ADF&G — 2026/27 Southeast Alaska commercial red king crab fishery (advisory announcement, Sept. 2, 2026). Also: KFSK — Commercial red king crab fishery to open in Southeast Alaska for second year in a row (Olivia Rose, Sept. 4, 2026).