Alaskan officials recently canceled the Bering Sea snow crab season for the first time ever after scientists discovered an unprecedented decline in crab numbers. Climate change is the number one suspect in the drop-off.
"We’re still trying to figure it out, but certainly there’s very clear signs of the role of climate change in the collapse,” said Michael Litzow, shellfish assessment program manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which runs an annual survey of Bering Sea snow crab numbers. (Snow crabs are also found in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska.)
The decision to cancel, announced by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Oct. 10, came as a devastating blow for local fisheries in a state where the seafood industry is an economic cornerstone. Commercial landings last year of Alaska snow crab alone came to 44 million pounds (19.8 million kilograms) and $219 million, according to NOAA data.