Sea ice is moving south - rapidly.  That’s a concern for boats heading out to catch snow crab.

Although the snow crab season opened back in October, it’s only really getting underway now.  As of Tuesday, 22 boats were out fishing and other 61 have pre-registered to fish. That total is slightly down from last year despite a doubling of the snow crab quota.  The harvest is set at 88.9 million pounds compared to 48.9 54.3 million last year.

 Crabbers might have a hard time reaching that quota though if the sea ice continues its southern trajectory.  A certain amount of snow crab has to be delivered to the Trident processing plant on St. Paul Island, which is currently about 120 miles south of the ice edge.  If St. Paul is surrounded by ice, crabbers won’t be able to deliver, which would present all kinds of challenges.

Although that’s definitely not inevitable since the sea ice extent fluctuates, people in the industry are keeping a close eye on the situation.

Unisea production manager Don Graves says he’s been checking the ice extent regularly.  If the plant in St. Paul has to shut down, that could mean more boats delivering in Unalaska, which would change staffing needs and on down the line.

But that’s all hypothetical.  At the moment, most boats are just trying to get their gear in order so they can head out and start fishing.  The first deliveries to Unalaska are expected as early as next week.

That’s right around when prices should firm up as well.  Crab broker Rob George says at the moment it’s looking like around a two-dollar dock price, but that could change over the next week or so.

One thing is for sure: it’s going to be a long season.  With 88.9 million pounds to harvest and possible delays because of the sea ice, it’s likely boats will be fishing right up until the season closes on May 15.

Correction: The subdistrict east of 173 degrees W closes on May 15.  The western subdistrict closes on May 31.