Why Have Prices For Alaskan King Crab, Snow Crab Surged? Experts ...

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ACCESSIBILITYWhy have prices for Alaskan king crab, snow crab surged? Experts point to climate change

by Michelle Esteban, KOMO News anchor/reporter

Wed, October 13, 2021 at 8:48 PMUpdated Wed, October 13, 2021 at 8:51 PMA seafood display at Pike Place Market.Comment on this story0CommentShare storyShare

topics:

• Alaska,United States
• Canada
• Canada
• Seattle
• Seattle,Washington,United States
• Vince Novello
• Robert Foy
• Carlee Hollenbeck

SEATTLE -- Sticker shock has landed at the fish counter and restaurant table for customers ordering Alaskan king crab and snow crab, both of which are seeing some of the highest prices in years.

During a spot check Wednesday at Pike Place Market, Alaskan red king crab was selling for nearly $100 a pound at Pure Food Fish Market, a popular market now being operated by a fourth generation of the family that started it.

"Crab right now is the most scarce we've ever seen it," said Carlee Hollenbeck. "Even my grandfather who worked here over 70 years has never seen it" this expensive.

A check of local grocery stores around the region found that some stores said they were out of stock of Alaskan red king crab or the price was about $100 a pound, an unheard of price, according to local fish mongers and seafood restaurants.

The price of snow crab has also spiked in recent weeks.

Experts say when supplies are plentiful, the snow crab -- considered the queen of crabs -- typically fetches around $29 a pound. KOMO News saw prices on Wednesday of it selling for $60.

Why have the costs risen so high?

Retailers and others say the prices are higher because supply has dropped.

Officials say a dearth of supply is fueling higher costs for Alaskan king crab and snow crab.

"Alaska Fish & Game is doing this to protect and save them," Hollenbeck said. "So we can enjoy them for decades to come."

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently cancelled the 2021 Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, reducing this year's supply of snow crab by 91 percent. Officials said it represented the biggest drop in 40 years.

Seafood mongers and restaurants like the Crab Pot Restaurant and Bar on Pier 57 along the Seattle waterfront, said the decision in Alaska means local businesses are now competing for just 9 percent of the snow crab.

"That is now taking something that used to be on many restaurants' menus and tables (and) has made it for the super wealthy,' said Nick Vollero, who works at the Crab Pot.

Vince Novello, who also works at the Crab Pot, said he plans to rely on supply from Canada for snow crab and will remove king crab from his menu after they deplete their current supply.

"This market has made it impossible for us to serve a purely Alaskan feast at the crab pot for the first time in my lifetime," Novello said. "And the lifetime before mine."

Said Vollero: "This year has been tough. 91 percent of (our) stock of snow crab has been taken away."

Dr. Robert Foy, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which operates under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration Fisheries, said the current decline in crab supply is due to, in part, the extreme weather and ocean events that have recently occurred.

The NOAA Fisheries office in Alaska said it imposed harvest limits after their marine survey revealed that crab stocks did not meet regulatory thresholds to open fisheries.

"With climate change, we are experiencing extreme events that we can't predict, so it's affecting the entire marine ecosystem," Foy said.

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