The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2005–2015
Bering Sea crab quotas went to processors too, ending the Deadliest Catch derby
Alaska's 2005 crab program allocated harvesting and processing shares, cutting vessels by two-thirds and ending the race to fish.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council · Bering Sea crab harvesters · Bering Sea crab processors
The solution
The Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands crab fishery was the 'Deadliest Catch': under limited entry, fishing opened at an appointed time and boats raced to catch as much as possible before closure, overloading vessels, fishing through storms, and flooding markets with crab.
In 2005 the North Pacific Fishery Management Council replaced the derby with the Crab Rationalization program. Harvesters got quota shares of each TAC; uniquely, processors also got processing shares, so every pound landed had to match harvest and processing quota — protecting island communities whose plants existed because of the derby.
In the program's first year, participating vessels fell by about two-thirds, and fishermen who exited could lease quota while staying invested. Deliveries became scheduled appointments, fishing spread through the season, and the fishery has operated without the derby's crisis-driven conditions since.
Why it worked
- Harvest and processing quota together keep both sides at the table
- Leasing lets consolidated capital stay in the fishery after boats leave
- Crew shares give captains and deckhands a stake, not just owners
- Scheduled deliveries end gluts and the incentive to fish in storms
What can be applied
If a value chain has two bottlenecks, allocate rights on both sides: harvesting-only quota would let processor power or a derby-built coast rebuild the very race the reform meant to kill.
Aftermath
The ten-year review (2017) found the program met its goals of ending the derby and reducing overcapacity, while processor quota preserved landings in communities like St. Paul. Critics point to consolidation and displaced crew; later management added cooperative and arbitration mechanisms to keep the market working.
Sources
- BSAI Crab Rationalization Program
- The Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Crab Rationalization Program: Addressing Community Effects with Processor Quota
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