Petersburg . . . The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that seasons for the 2015/2016 commercial Tanner and golden king crab fisheries in Southeast Alaska will open by regulation at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The season start date for the Tanner and golden king crab fisheries is based on the date with the smallest Juneau tidal range between February 10 and February 17 [5 AAC 35.110(a) and 5 AAC 34.110(b)]. Fishermen are also reminded that weather delay criteria for the Tanner and king crab fisheries have been adopted into regulation. Any delay to the start of the 2015/2016 Tanner and golden king crab fisheries due to weather will be announced 24 hours before the start of the fisheries [5 AAC 35.110(b) and 34.110(f)].
The registration deadline for both fisheries is Tuesday, January 19, 2016. Fishermen who register after that date will be required to pay a $45.00 late fee. Buoy tags are mandatory for all commercial Tanner and golden king crab gear and are available in any area office in Southeast Alaska for $1.25 each. Further information on the 2015/2016 Tanner crab and golden king crab fisheries will be announced in subsequent news releases.