NOAA ecological research on hatchery-cultured blue king crabs

Juvenile blue king crab on gillnet. Photo by Ben Daly.

In collaboration with AKCRRAB, the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Kodiak plans to conduct blue king crab research using hatchery-cultured juveniles. Researchers will investigate the thermal tolerance, upper temperature threshold, and fine scale growth at elevated temperatures to help predict how wild blue king crab stocks will fare in the face of global climate change. Other avenues of blue king crab research using hatchery-cultured juveniles include predator-prey interactions and habitat requirements. To support this research, the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery shipped over 12,000 juvenile blue king crabs to the NOAA Kodiak laboratory, which marks the largest single shipment by AKCRRAB to date.

News Flash is edited by Ben Daly. AKCRRAB is a research and rehabilitation project sponsored by the Alaska Sea Grant College Program, UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, NOAA Fisheries, the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, community groups, and industry members.