Troll Crab Price Per Pound 2022 (2024)

FAQs

Why are crab prices so high 2022? ›

Overfishing

Given the current crab population statistics, the Bering Sea snow crab was deemed overfished in 2022. Last year, researches discovered that the female population of snow crabs in the sea had dropped 99% from 2021.

Following the meetings, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Bering snow crab season will be closed for 2023-2024; Bristol Bay red king crab will open. Tanner crab will also be open for commercial fishermen. Both the snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab seasons were closed in 2023.

*At about $4.50 per pound (up from $3.90 last year), fishermen can make between $27 and $45 for each red king crab they catch. At about $1.70 per pound (up from $1.50 last year), an average opilio crab can fetch $1.70 to $5.10.

Demand for crab, in general, appears to be recovering in most markets, but supplies of some products are tight. Snow crab quotas for the 2023 season are the highest since 2016, totalling 160 000 tonnes. However, consumers demand may be muted, keeping prices low.

The 2024 commercial golden king crab (GKC) fishery in Southeast Alaska (Registration Area A) will open concurrently with the commercial Tanner crab fishery at 12:00 noon on Saturday, February 17, 2024.

“The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery for the prior two seasons were closed based on low abundance and particularly low abundance of mature-sized female crabs,” said Mark Stichert, the state department's ground fish and shellfish management coordinator.

As we have explained, king crab has a short harvesting season, which leads to limited availability. They also have a limited cold water habitat. Additionally, they have a lobster-like flavor. This makes king crab the more expensive of the two; snow crab legs are typically more affordable than king crab ones.

So, who's the richest captain on Deadliest Catch? Here's what to know. The richest captain in Deadliest Catch is season 19 star Sig Hansen, captain of F/V Northwestern.

Do crab fishermen make a lot of money? ›

$36,000 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $54,800 is the 75th percentile. Salaries above this are outliers.

$36,500 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $55,500 is the 75th percentile.

Snow Crab. Like King crabs, Snow crabs have very long legs that provide a lot of their meat, which is a little more fibrous than King crab, but very tasty. Because their legs are thinner and less impressive than king crab legs, they are less popular with restaurants and thus more affordable for you.

Taste: King crab vs snow crab taste very differently and their meat is usually used for different purposes. The King crab is known as the best of the best when it comes to crab meat and it is usually a delicacy and eaten on its own or with a buttery dip.

You can expect to see lower prices for crab than lobster, but pricing depends mostly on where you live, what species are around, and what you're buying. King crab legs, for example, might cost you more per pound than lobster because of how desirable they are.

The Cost of Catching and Processing Crab Meat

One of the main reasons why crab meat is expensive is due to the high cost of catching and processing the crabs. Crabbing is a labor-intensive process that requires skilled workers to operate specialized equipment such as crab traps and crab pots.

According to new research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a marine heat wave linked to climate change impacted the snow crabs' food supply and drove them to starvation. Biologists hope this second round of suspensions will give the remaining snow crab population time to bulk back up.

In October 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled all snow crab, red king crab, and blue king crab seasons for 2022-2023, after trawl surveys showed a continuing crash in abundance.

Then 2022 saw a sharp decline of 10 billion crabs. A marine heatwave, which happens when ocean temperatures are persistently and anomalously warm, causes stress to corals and other marine ecosystems, leaving sea life vulnerable and causing chaos across food chains.