Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

Saildrone set to track Alaska red king crab

by NOAA Fisheries 16 Jun 2019 07:10 PDT
NOAA Fisheries scientist Leah Zacher tests a trial tag on a female red king crab © NOAA Fisheries

Fishing industry and researchers team up to track red king crab seasonal movements to provide data vital to keeping the Bristol Bay fishery sustainable in a changing climate.

Alaska red king crab and the perils that fishermen face to catch them have gained worldwide fame. But fishermen are also working hard, together with NOAA Fisheries, to keep red king crab populations healthy and sustainable.

Reasons for declines in Bristol Bay red king crab stocks over the last decade are not well understood. Very little is known about how recent environmental variability drives crab seasonal movements, habitat use, and interactions with groundfish trawl fisheries.

NOAA Fisheries is partnering with the fishermen-supported nonprofit Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation to find answers to these unknowns. We are launching research to track the movements of adult male red king crabs in Bristol Bay using an unmanned surface drone (Saildrone, Inc.). Their findings will provide information crucial to keeping red king crab sustainable in a changing climate.

"So little is known about where crabs are and how they move. We have only snapshots from summer surveys. This research will fill in the life history gaps to better inform the management of red king crab as both target and bycatch," said Scott Goodman of Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation.

"Managers need to understand where crabs go in different seasons, and what habitats are essential, to set effective rules for fishing," said NOAA Fisheries scientist Leah Zacher, who is leading the project. "Everyone benefits from increasing our knowledge of crab distributions."

Tag and Seek: Tracking Seasonal Movements of Crabs
Scientists will be working with fishermen in June to tag crabs with acoustic devices that transmit an ID number and the bottom temperature. Tagging is timed right after the NOAA Fisheries summer survey so researchers will be able to target where crabs are most abundant.

The team will deploy the saildrone, equipped with an acoustic receiver, in October 2019 and again in April 2020 to relocate the tagged crabs.

"We know where crabs are in the summer from annual NOAA Fisheries surveys, but there is little information for the rest of the year. We will relocate the crabs in the fall to understand how crabs move onto the fishing grounds, and in the spring to determine their locations when they are vulnerable to being caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries," Zacher said.

The saildrone, contracted and funded by Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation, provides invaluable capabilities to make the search, and the research, possible.

"We have a huge area to search for moving targets in an ever-changing environment. Traditional tag and recover methods require an enormous investment of time. You are dependent on the crabs being caught in a fishery and the tags returnedyou never know if or when the tags will come back. Tracking crabs acoustically from a manned vessel would be unfeasibly expensive," Zacher explained. "With a saildrone we can cover huge areas cost-effectively, at the times when we need data."

"This technology will collect many data points for each crab released. It is a new paradigm for tag release and recovery studies," Goodman said.

Essential Habitat in a Changing Climate
An important outcome of the research will be finding out what habitats are essential for Bristol Bay red king crab in different seasons, and whether current protected areas are effective.

Temperature information transmitted by each tagged crab will help determine how temperature influences crab movement among key areas. The team will also compare crab locations with sediment maps to identify the characteristics of essential habitat.

The study will also show whether protected areas are in fact protecting crabs.

"The Red King Crab Savings Area is closed to trawling to provide a protected habitat. But the area was initially set based on limited information, and since then the climate has changed, the environment is changing. Managers need to know if and when red king crabs are moving through and using those areas to know if they are effective," Zacher said.

Understanding how crab movements are affected by climate is a longer-range goal of the study. Warm conditions are projected for the Bering Sea in 2019, so the team will document habitat use and movement under a warm regime. This can be compared to future tracking efforts in cooler conditions.

Additional Resources:

Related Articles

Vaikobi Launches V-DRY-X
The New Standard in Grand Prix Sailing Dry Gear Vaikobi, a global leader in high-performance ocean sports apparel, is proud to unveil V-DRY-X: a breakthrough range of sailing dry gear engineered for Grand Prix racing and coastal yachting. Posted on 27 Jun
Rolex Fastnet Race at 100 – the making of a giant
At present 469 yachts have entered this special edition - a far cry from its humble origins in 1925 One month remains until the 26 July start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, this year celebrating both its centenary as well as that of the club it spawned: the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Posted on 27 Jun
America's Cup: Confidential settlement reached
A confidential settlement reached over five year Cup legal claims. New Zealand website, Newsroom has obtained the confidential settlement reached between the America's Cup team Emirates Team New Zealand and their formerly contracted Event Managers, Mayo & Calder, and others associated with the company. Posted on 27 Jun
Crew dynamics will be decisive in Course des Caps
Just two days to go before the start of the first race of the eagerly-awaited 2025 IMOCA season With just two days to go before the start of the first race of the eagerly-awaited 2025 IMOCA season, all eyes are on Boulogne-Sur-Mer as 11 crews prepare to race around the British Isles in the Course des Caps-Boulogne sur Mer-Banque Populaire du Nord. Posted on 27 Jun
2025 Marion to Bermuda Race concludes
Celebrating the remarkable seamanship and sportsmanship of every team After days of strategic sailing, shifting winds, and open-ocean challenges, the results are in—and we're proud to celebrate the remarkable seamanship and sportsmanship of every team that took part. Posted on 27 Jun
29th Superyacht Cup Palma day 2
Linnea Aurora turns the tables as it gets tight at the top A bigger and better breeze welcomed the racing fleet on the second day of the Superyacht Cup Palma 2025, resulting in full-tilt sailing around the 23nm five-leg racecourse. Posted on 27 Jun
CYCS 2025 Tiedemann Classics Regatta preview
Bringing together some of the most beautiful yachts on the water The Classic Yacht Owners Association's annual Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) kicks off a summer of stunning northeastern sailing with the 2025 Tiedemann Classics Regatta this weekend. Posted on 27 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 8
Mourniac & Retornaz take the lead in the Nacra 17 class A dream day ahead of the second weekend at the Kieler Woche regatta off Schilksee: Moderate to fresh westerly winds with strong gusts, alternating sun and clouds, provided ideal sailing conditions for all participants on Friday. Posted on 27 Jun
J/70 Mixed-Plus Worlds at Lake Garda Day 2
Spanish team Yupi top the leaderboard Friday was the second day of racing in Torbole for the inaugural J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship. Although the "Ora" breeze was lighter than yesterday, it didn't disappoint; it blew steadily enough to deliver three fair, fun and hard-fought races. Posted on 27 Jun
SailGP: Roger Federer inspires Swiss SailGP team.
Roger Federer joins forces with Switzerland SailGP Team to inspire success One of Switzerland's greatest sporting icons, Roger Federer, features in the newest episode of Racing on the Edge, SailGP's official behind-the-scenes docuseries, produced in partnership with Rolex. Posted on 27 Jun
Palm Beach Motor YachtsDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOMSea Sure 2025