Crabbers Want In On Federal Plan To Trace Illegal Seafood

A new federal plan to combat illegal seafood harvesting includes a program to trace at-risk species from harvest to market. It means regulators will have to decide what species are suffering the most from illegal activity. And as KUCB’s Annie Ropeik reports, fishermen in Alaska are hoping crab will make the list.

Alaska’s crab fleet catches many of the same species as their counterparts in Russia — from red, blue and brown king crab, to snow and tanner crab.

But illegal fishing in Russia is thought to account for a large part of the crab that finds its way to American consumers. Studies suggest that’s cost Alaska $600 million since 2000.

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