Change in Size-Class Structure of Populations of Kodiak Island Commercial Male King Crabs Due to Fishing

Abstract

Intensive exploitation of commercial king crab populations at the south end of Kodiak Island has caused a reduction of individual crab size and, as the resource continues to be utilized at a high level, the recruits may eventually constitute the bulk of the harvest.Carapace length distributions of 3359 males obtained on August 10–11, 1963, from three fishing areas with different rates of utilization indicated that the size-class structure for the Sitkinak Island and Wide Bay areas were similar, but different from that of the Alitak Bay area.Comparison of length–frequency data collected from Alitak Bay in 1954 and 1963–64 indicated that larger size-classes have been cropped and are no longer abundant.