Biologists with the Alaska King Crab Research,
Rehabilitation and Biology Program have added broodstock from Kodiak to their
list of wild caught red king crab successfully used for larvae rearing.
The program also had been successful in its project at the Alutiiq pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward using red king crab from Bristol Bay and Juneau.
Biologists say this successful diversification is important
in showing that their methods work for a variety of red king crab stocks.
In a report issued May 28, the biologists said they reared
larvae in six 1,200 liter tanks, stocked at a density of 50 larvae per liter,
and fed the larvae a diet of microalgae and a San Francisco Bay strain of
artemia enriched with fatty acids.
Survival from stocking to the glaucothoe stage averaged 59
percent and survival from stocking to the first juvenile crab stage averaged 34
percent, they said.
Partners and supports of the AKCRRAB project include the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, Chugach Regional Resources Commission, NOAA Aquaculture Program, NOAA Fisheries, Norton Sound Economic Development Corp., United Fishermen’s Marketing Association, the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Alaska Sea Grant.
Partners and supports of the AKCRRAB project include the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, Chugach Regional Resources Commission, NOAA Aquaculture Program, NOAA Fisheries, Norton Sound Economic Development Corp., United Fishermen’s Marketing Association, the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Alaska Sea Grant.
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