The Red King crab fishery in the Barents Sea started as an experimental fishery in 1994 with a quota of eleven thousand crabs in both the Norwegian and Russian zones. This quota increased during the 1990s to 100 thousand in 2001. In 2002, the Norwegian king crab fishery became a commercial fishery with vessel-quotas, while the Russians introduced a licensed commercial fishery in 2004. In Norway, only small coastal fishing vessels can participate in the crab fishery, and in 2005 about 270 vessels between seven and fiftheen meters participated.
The Red King crab is a highly valuable product on the market, and prices to the fishers have varied from NOK 35 to 95. In 2005, the total value of landings reached about NOK 80 millions.
Sex, size and season
The Red King crab in the Barents Sea is managed jointly by Norway and Russia through the Norwegian-Russian Fishery Commission, which has decided all annual quotas and other common regulatory issues. The main management principle is based on the so called 3S Strategy (sex, size and season): Only males with a carapace length larger than 132 mm are allowable catch, and fishing season is from September to February. Every year, a small part of the Norwegian quota is assigned to research and to the tourist industry, the major part being vessel-quotas divided equally among the participating vessels.
Wrecking by-catch
By-catches of King crab in the coastal gillnet and longline fishery increased in the 1990s along with the stock. The crab ruins both gear and catches as it tangles into the nets and feeds on caught fish. This by-catch impels fishers to abandon historically important fishing grounds. Research is carried out to develop fishing gear that reduces by-catches of crab in gillnets.
Impact on the Barents Sea ecosystem
In 2002, the Institute of Marine Research launched a comprehensive research programme on ecosystem impacts of the red king crab. The programme focuses on issues such as spreading, effects on bottom fauna, associated parasites etc. These investigations are carried out in close co-operation with Russian scientists. They have shown that the crab feeds on a wide range of prey benthic animals. There is also an indication that the king crab may affect the lumpsucker recruitment by feeding on its egg-clutches.