Attention Dungeness crab fishermen: Please continue to voluntarily send in samples for PSP testing. The DEC continues to insist on the need for PSP sampling to ensure unrestricted harvest. Whole cooked and live crab sales are restricted in un-sampled areas. At present, no commercial Dungeness crab samples have tested positive for PSP. Thanks goes to Kathy Hansen at SEAFA for ensuring sample coordination.
For additional information contact:
Mike Gentry, Seafood Program Manager
Food Safety and Sanitation
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 269-7596
http://www.dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/seafood/Docs/Fall_Dungeness_Crab_Harvest_Samples.pdf
May 18, 2012
Dear Participants of the Recent Dungeness Task Force Meeting
SEAFA with the assistance of PVOA is organizing industry pre-season DEC sampling for Dungeness crab fishery. We received late yesterday the list of participants in order to send out this information. SEAFA members already received most of this yesterday so sorry for the duplication. We are still getting additional information from DEC & ADFG. The DEC 2012 Crab PSP Monitoring Plan is online at http://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/seafood/Docs/2012CrabPSPMonitoringPlan.pdf .
Yesterday was the Dungeness Crab Task Force meeting and DEC attended the meeting and surprised everyone by announcing that whole crab sales would not be allowed UNLESS a district is sampled and tested or the crab are batch tested for PSP. The regulatory limit for PSP in Crab is 70ug/100g, that is the limit at which DEC restricts whole distribution.
The Department (ADFG) has made a commitment to test 3 districts, District 15, and District 6 & 7 as they had a vessel transiting the district on the way for a survey in District 1 & 2 (not crab related).
If we want the remaining district tested pre-season to allow for whole crab sales, industry needs to coordinate and get samples. There will be a strict protocol to follow and we are still getting additional information. At this point we are looking for crab fishermen that will volunteer to get samples between May 28th to the 31st. This is the window that would still allow you to participate in the crab fishery (2 week stand down) and close enough to the fishery that DEC will accept the results as being valid. According to ADFG sport fishing/personal use crab pots must be out of the water on June 1st at 12 noon.
Each sample consists of crab taken from at least 2 different locations (checking on the distance requirements) and we need the following number of samples from the district.
District 6/7 Earnest Sound/Clarence Strait 3 samples
District 6 Duncan Canal 3 samples (Dept Collecting)
District 7/8 Stikine Flats 3 samples (Dept Collecting)
District 3/5 West Prince of Wales 3 samples
District 5/9 Port Camden/West Kuiu 3 samples
District 10 Thomas Bay/Farragut Bay 3 samples
District 9/12 Peril Strait 3 samples
District 13 3 samples
District 12 Tenakee Inlet 3 samples
District 9/10/11 East Admiralty 3 samples
District 11/12/15B/15C Lynn Canal 3 samples
District 12/13/14 Icy Strait 3 samples
District 15 North Lynn Canal (Dept collecting)
If you are willing to collect samples, please contact SEAFA and provide us with the District you are interested in sampling, and contact information so that we can make the arrangements. We need to coordinate so that all districts are covered and that we don’t duplicate samples from the same area. We have had some volunteers call and based on the areas of interest expressed it looks like the areas that we don’t have covered yet and need volunteers for ESPECIALLY ARE:
103/105 West Prince of Wales
105/109 Port Camden/West Kuiu
113
109/110/111 East Admiralty
We hope to be able to confirm up with all volunteers the time, area and protocols.
Thank you to all those that have already called and volunteered
Kathy Hansen
Southeast Alaska Fishermen’s Alliance (SEAFA)
9369 North Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
PHONE: (907) 586-6652
FAX: (907) 523-1168
CELL: (907) 209-5400
EMAIL: [email protected]