Petersburg. . . The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the red and blue king crab personal use fishery in the Port Frederick, Seymour Canal, and Peril Strait areas will remain closed for the season. These areas are defined as follows:

(1) Port Frederick (all waters of Port Frederick south and west of a line between the light at Cannery Point to the northernmost tip of Halibut Island and from there to a point at 58° 09.60’ N. latitude 135° 30.00’ W. longitude) and;

(2) Section 11-D, Seymour Canal (waters of Seymour Canal north of 57° 37.00’N. latitude) and;

(3) Section 13-C, Peril Strait (all waters of Peril Strait, Hoonah Sound, Rodman Bay and contiguous waters west of a line from Point Hayes to Point Thatcher and north of a line from Pogibshi Point due west to the Chichagof shoreline).

Data from the department’s 2005 red king crab survey indicated that stocks in the Port Frederick and Seymour Canal areas were below a level that could sustain a fishery and they remained closed for both commercial and personal use fisheries. The Peril Strait area was assessed to be able to sustain harvest at a reduced level, and the personal use fishery there re-opened concurrently with the commercial fishery at 12:00 noon, Tuesday, November 1, 2005. The Peril Strait area closed by regulation to personal use fishing on March 31, 2006. Stock strength in all three of these areas will be re-evaluated following the summer 2006 red king crab survey. The personal use fishery in other areas of Southeast Alaska will open by regulation on July 1, 2006.

News releases can be found on our web site at http://documents.cf1.adfg.state.ak.us/TopicContents.po.

Phone numbers for the ADF&G Southeast Area Offices are: Juneau 465-4250, Sitka 747-6688,

Ketchikan, 225-5195, Petersburg 772-3801, Wrangell 874-3822, Haines 766-2830, and Yakutat 784-3255.

For enforcement related questions or comments, contact Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement at the following numbers: Ketchikan 225-5111, Petersburg 772-3983, Sitka 747-3254, Juneau 465-4000, Haines 766-2533, Yakutat 784-3220, Wrangell 874-3215.