(Released: September 07, 2021 - Expired: March 15, 2022)

CONTACT: Holly Dickson
Sport Fish Assistant Area Management Biologist
(907) 235-8191


Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast Sport and Subsistence Tanner Crab Annual Limit and Season

(Homer) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced today the Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast sport and subsistence Tanner crab fisheries season, gear, and limits for the 2021-2022 season. The “limited” Tanner crab fisheries will be open from October 1 through February 28, with a bag and possession limit of 3 legal male Tanner crab per person, an annual limit of 20, and gear limited to 1 pot or ring net per vessel.

The limited Tanner crab fishery provides harvest opportunities in years that the department trawl survey was not conducted, or if the abundance estimate of legal Tanner crab from the survey is less than the threshold for the larger standard fishery. No trawl survey was conducted in 2020 or 2021 due to a lack of funding.

The annual limit of 20 Tanner crab per person was adopted by the Alaska Board of Fisheries during the March 2020 Statewide King and Tanner Crab meeting. “The annual limit helps stabilize the harvest and ensure that the harvest remains at less than 10% of the legal male Tanner crab abundance,” said Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson.

Permits are ONLY available online through the ADF&G store located under the “Fishing & Shellfish Permits” tab. Permits will be available starting September 20, 2021.

Individuals are encouraged to obtain only the sport or the subsistence permit, not both. There is no benefit to having both permits because you may not retain two bag limits. The sport permit allows an individual to fish in all Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast salt waters, while the area in which a subsistence permit can be fished is more restricted.

Each permit holder is responsible for reporting online by March 15, 2022, even if the permit holder did not fish. Accurate reporting is crucial to continue responsible management of this limited fishery and provide a small harvest opportunity each year. Individuals who fail to report online by March 15, 2022, WILL NOT be eligible for a permit the following year.

Following the 2020-2021 season reporting deadline, ADF&G contacted all permit holders who had not yet reported to provide them the appeals process for reporting. After the appeals process, 155 individuals of 1,987 total permit holders had not reported or submitted an appeal and were placed on a fail to report list. Those individuals will be unable to receive a permit this season.

For additional information, please contact Sport Fish Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson (Sport fishery) or Commercial Fisheries Area Management Biologist Jan Rumble (Subsistence fishery) at (907) 235-8191.

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