Current:Home > Contact-usAlaska's snow crab season canceled for second year in a row as population fails to rebound-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Alaska's snow crab season canceled for second year in a row as population fails to rebound
View Date:2024-12-23 23:27:37
Gabriel Prout is grateful for a modest haul of king crab, but it's the vanishing of another crustacean variety that has the fishing port in Kodiak, Alaska, bracing for financial fallout; for the second year in a row, the lucrative snow crab season has been canceled.
"We're still definitely in survival mode trying to find a way to stay in business," he told CBS News.
When the season was canceled last year, there was a sense of confusion among the Alaska crab fisher community. Now, a sense of panic is taking hold in the state's fisheries, which produce 60% of the nation's seafood.
"It's just still extremely difficult to fathom how we could go from a healthy population in the Bering Sea to two closures in a row," Prout said.
And while he is barely holding on, others — like Joshua Songstad — have lost almost everything.
"All of a sudden, now I'm at home with no income and really not much to do," Songstad said.
The crisis first began in early 2022, after biologists discovered an estimated 10 billion crabs disappeared — a 90% plunge in the population.
"The first reaction was, is this real? You know, we looked at it and it was almost a flat line," said Ben Daly, a research coordinator with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
A recent survey of the species showed little sign of a rebound.
"Environmental conditions are changing rapidly," Daly told CBS News last year when the snow crab season was canceled for the first time ever. "We've seen warm conditions in the Bering Sea the last couple of years, and we're seeing a response in a cold-adapted species, so it's pretty obvious this is connected. It is a canary in a coal mine for other species that need cold water."
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.
But with the climate threat only growing, there's concern the snow crabs, along with the industry that depends on them, will continue to shrink.
"I'm a fourth-generation fisherman," Songstad said. "I would like to say that this is gonna be here for my kids, but the reality is we're a dying breed and if we keep going the way we're going, there's not going to be any of us left."
Jonathan VigliottiJonathan Vigliotti is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles. He previously served as a foreign correspondent for the network's London bureau.
TwitterveryGood! (5317)
Related
- Pedro Pascal's Sister Lux Pascal Debuts Daring Slit on Red Carpet at Gladiator II Premiere
- From Paris to Los Angeles: How the city is preparing for the 2028 Olympics
- Madonna’s 24-Year-Old Son Rocco Is All Grown Up in Rare Photos
- In Pennsylvania’s Competitive Senate Race, Fracking Takes Center Stage
- Dramatic video shows Phoenix police rescue, pull man from car submerged in pool: Watch
- Will Katie Ledecky Compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics? She Says...
- Large desert tortoise rescued from Arizona highway after escaping from ostrich ranch 3 miles away
- A'ja Wilson dragged US women's basketball to Olympic gold in an ugly win over France
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Kelly Ripa Shares How Miley Cyrus Influenced Daughter Lola’s Music Career
Ranking
- Barbora Krejcikova calls out 'unprofessional' remarks about her appearance
- USA men's basketball, USWNT gold medal games at 2024 Paris Olympics most-watched in 20+ years
- A'ja Wilson dragged US women's basketball to Olympic gold in an ugly win over France
- Man arrested in connection with attempt to ship a ton of meth to Australia
- Jennifer Lopez Turns Wicked Premiere Into Family Outing With 16-Year-Old Emme
- Emotions run wild as players, celebrities bask in US women's basketball gold medal
- Man arrested in connection with attempt to ship a ton of meth to Australia
- Millie Bobby Brown Includes Nod to Jake Bongiovi Marriage on Stranger Things Set
Recommendation
-
Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
-
Inside a Michigan military school where families leave teenagers out of love, desperation
-
King Charles III applauds people who stood against racism during recent unrest in the UK
-
For increasing number of immigrants, a ‘new life in America’ starts in South Dakota
-
How Saturday Night Live Reacted to Donald Trump’s Win Over Kamala Harris
-
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran directs homophobic slur at fan, issues apology
-
MLB power rankings: Rampaging Padres hunt down Dodgers behind phenom Jackson Merrill
-
From Biden to Gabbard, here’s what Harris’ past debates show before a faceoff with Trump