Free catch to put a stop to the king crab
Norwegian fishery authorities have extended the zone of free catch of the king crab in a bid to stagger the rapid spreading of the animal in the country’s northern waters.
The king crab, also known as the Kamchatka crab, is not only gourmet food and a curious creature in the Barents Sea and the Bering Sea. It is also the subject of major concern to ecologists, the fish industry and fishery authorities seeing it as a threat to the local eco-system.
Now, Norwegian authorities are taking new measures to restrict the spreading of the crab in its northern waters. According to a press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, unrestricted free catch of the crab is extended to parts of the Porsanger Fjord and areas east of the 26 longitude. From before, there is free catch on the crab to the west of the 26 longitude.
The king crab was introduced artificially in the Barents Sea during the 1960s when. The first animals were planted in the Murmansk Fjord to provide new catch for Soviet fishermen. Since its introduction it has spread west along the Norwegian coast and also towards the island group of Svalbard. Environmentalists and some local fishermen fear the crab because it eats everything it comes across and is spreading very rapidly.
