Seafood Watch Seafood Report King crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (red king crab) Paralithodes platypus (blue king crab) Lithodes aequispinus (golden king crab) Seafood Watch AK King Crab © Monterey Bay Aquarium West Coast Region Final Report December 12, 2007 Stock Status Update August 23, 2010 Stephanie Danner Fisheries Research Analyst Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® King Crab Report August 23, 2010 About Seafood Watch® and the Seafood Reports Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch® program evaluates the ecological sustainability of wild-caught and farmed seafood commonly found in the United States marketplace. Seafood Watch® defines sustainable seafood as originating from sources, whether wild-caught or farmed, which can maintain or increase production in the long-term without jeopardizing the structure or function of affected ecosystems. Seafood Watch® makes its science-based recommendations available to the public in the form of regional pocket guides that can be downloaded from the Internet (seafoodwatch.org) or obtained from the Seafood Watch® program by emailing [email protected]. The program’s goals are to raise awareness of important ocean conservation issues and empower seafood consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans. Each sustainability recommendation on the regional pocket guides is supported by a Seafood Report. Each report synthesizes and analyzes the most current ecological, fisheries and ecosystem science on a species, then evaluates this information against the program’s conservation ethic to arrive at a recommendation of “Best Choices”, “Good Alternatives” or “Avoid.” The detailed evaluation methodology is available upon request. In producing the Seafood Reports, Seafood Watch® seeks out research published in academic, peer-reviewed journals whenever possible. Other sources of information include government technical publications, fishery management plans and supporting documents, and other scientific reviews of ecological sustainability. Seafood Watch® Fisheries Research Analysts also communicate regularly with ecologists, fisheries and aquaculture scientists, and members of industry and conservation organizations when evaluating fisheries and aquaculture practices. Capture fisheries and aquaculture practices are highly dynamic; as the scientific information on each species changes, Seafood Watch’s sustainability recommendations and the underlying Seafood Reports will be updated to reflect these changes. Parties interested in capture fisheries, aquaculture practices and the sustainability of ocean ecosystems are welcome to use Seafood Reports in any way they find useful. For more information about Seafood Watch® and Seafood Reports, please contact the Seafood Watch® program at Monterey Bay Aquarium by calling 1-877-229-9990. Disclaimer Seafood Watch® strives to have all Seafood Reports reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science and aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch® program or its recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch® is solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. Seafood Watch® and Seafood Reports are made possible through a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. 1 Seafood Watch® King Crab Report August 23, 2010 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary............................................................................................................3 II. Introduction.........................................................................................................................6 III. Analysis of Seafood Watch® Sustainability Criteria for Wild-caught Species Criterion 1: Inherent Vulnerability to Fishing Pressure...............................................11 Criterion 2: Status of Wild Stocks ...............................................................................13 Criterion 3: Nature and Extent of Bycatch ..................................................................24 Criterion 4: Effect of Fishing Practices on Habitats and Ecosystems .........................32 Criterion 5: Effectiveness of the Management Regime...............................................37 IV. Overall Recommendation and Seafood Evaluation..........................................................44 V. References.........................................................................................................................46 VI. Appendices……………………………………………………………………………...55 2 Seafood Watch® King Crab Report August 23, 2010 I. Executive Summary Three king crab species are of commercial importance around the world: red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus); blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus); and golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus). They are generally distributed from the Sea of Japan to the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. The red king crab has also been introduced into the Barents Sea. The U.S. (49%) and Russia (45%) are the primary sources of king crab in the U.S. market. In the U.S., the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery and the Aleutian Islands golden king crab fishery comprised 60% and 32% of the U.S. landings, respectively. In Russia, king crab is caught in the Russian Far East and the Barents Sea. King crabs are moderately vulnerable to fishing pressure due to a moderate age at first maturity and sexual segregation during feeding periods. The Bristol Bay red king crab and Aleutian Islands golden king crab stocks, which comprise the majority (~92%) of the U.S. king crab fishery, are healthy. The Bristol Bay red king crab stock is not experiencing overfishing and biomass is above 100% BMSY. Estimates of biomass for the Aleutian Islands golden king crab stock is unknown and therefore it is unknown if the stock is overfished; however, CPUE has increased since the early 2000s. In addition, the stock is not experiencing overfishing and the size/sex/age distribution is normal. Given this information, the status of the Bristol Bay red king crab and Aleutian Islands golden king crab stocks are considered to be healthy according to Seafood Watch®. Moderate levels of king crab bycatch relative to landings occur in the directed Bristol Bay red king crab fishery (~16%) and the Aleutian Islands golden king crab fishery (~11%). This current level of bycatch has little impact on population levels. The crab pots used in the fishery are known to have moderate impacts to habitat. In addition, the fishery occurs over a moderate spatial scale. Management of the U.S. fishery is considered to be highly effective. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) regularly conduct stock assessments, collect fishery-dependent and independent data, and have implemented and enforced a suite of management measures, including guideline harvest levels (GHLs), size and sex limits, gear restrictions, fishing seasons, and observer coverage. In addition, ADF&G implemented a bycatch reduction plan and is responsive to changes in the fishery. Due to the moderate inherent vulnerability of king crabs to fishing pressure, healthy stock status, moderate levels of bycatch, moderate habitat impacts, and highly effective management, the U.S. king crab fishery is given an overall seafood recommendation of Good Alternative. In the Russian Far East, most king crab stocks are at historically low abundance levels, including the western Kamchatkan stock of red king crab, which had been the largest stock in the region. Overfishing and illegal fishing are regularly occurring and deteriorating the stocks, making the stock status for king crab in this region a critical conservation concern. The large amounts of illegal fishing also mean that management is highly ineffective. Regulations are ignored, resulting in exceeded catch quotas, ineffective bycatch measures, and failing stock productivity. Due to the critical conservation concerns of stock status and ineffective management, the Russian Far East king crab fishery is given an overall seafood recommendation of Avoid. 3 Seafood Watch® King Crab Report August 23, 2010 In the Russian Barents Sea, the red king crab is a quickly spreading invasive species that is causing substantial ecosystem impacts, including adverse impacts on lumpsucker recruitment and health of the native cod and sea urchin populations. The fishery is managed using methods that would traditionally be deemed as highly effective, but because the fishery is based on a non- native, invasive species, existing management is not desirable. In addition, attempting to maintain or enhance abundance through management of a non-native species is a violation of Article 8(h) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which states that “Contracting parties to the Convention should, as far as possible and appropriate, prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats, or species” (Hansson 2002). Until the fishery is managed as an eliminated fishery, Seafood Watch© deems the management of the Barents Sea fishery to be a high conservation concern. Due to the high conservation concerns of the ineffective management regime and the non-native, invasive species’ effects on the habitat and ecosystem, the Russian Barents Sea king crab fishery is given an overall seafood recommendation of Avoid Table of Sustainability Ranks Conservation Concern Sustainability Criteria Low Moderate High Critical