Despite dire predictions that the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery might not open this season, the allowable harvest that Fish and Game announced Wednesday is actually slightly higher than last year. 

“The legal and mature male abundance didn’t actually change much from last year," says area management biologist Heather Fitch. "However the average weight went up a little bit, so that’s how we ended up with about the same TAC [total allowable catch].”

Fishermen will have 7.9 million pounds of red king crab to catch when the season opens on October 15. Eighty-three boats have registered, although only fraction of those is expected to fish.

Fish and Game also announced the St. Matthew’s blue king crab allowable harvest. That fishery will see a 30 percent decrease, although Fitch points out that the 1.6 million pound quota is roughly the same as the amount that was actually harvested last year.

“The St. Matt’s fishery has not reached the total allowable catch since it re-opened. This is its fourth year after being reopened. We’ll see if the TAC is reached this year.”

The Bering Sea tanner crab fishery will remain closed this year. Fitch says the data from the federal trawl survey showed some improvement in the stock, but not enough to open the fishery. The Pribilof Islands blue and red king crab fisheries will also remain closed this year. Bering Sea snow crab quotas should be announced later this week.