Tag Archives: crab fisherman Gabriel Prout
Another Bering Sea snow crab season closure brings more financial hardships for fishermen
“This is something that’s in our blood,” said Gabriel Prout, the owner and a deckhand of the 116-foot F/V Silver Spray. However, now his passion and family tradition is in jeopardy. On Oct. 6, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it was closing the 2023-24 Bering Sea snow crab season for the second season in a row. “The stock is currently at all-time low levels from the survey time series,” said Ethan Nichols, the ADF&G acting area management biologist for the Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands region. “So, the threshold for opening is that total mature male biomass has to be at least 25% of long-term average. And in 2023 total mature male biomass is estimated to be between 15 and 19% of the long-term average.” The news felt like a punch to the gut for Prout, whose family relies on the season for 80 to 90% of its revenue. Video, >>click to read<< 11:40
Alaskan fishers fear another bleak season as crab populations dwindle in warming waters
Gabriel Prout worked four seasons on his father’s crab boat, the Silver Spray, before joining his two brothers in 2020 to buy a half-interest plus access rights for a snow crab fishery that’s typically the largest and richest in the Bering Sea. Then in 2021, disaster: an annual survey found crabs crashing to an all-time low. Kevin Abena, who runs a fishing business with his father, also relies on tendering to stay afloat in the wake of the crab fishery closure. His vessel Big Blue, which his father built in the late 1970s, stopped fishing for most crab in Bristol Bay in 2010, but they still own access rights and take a percentage from other boats that fish their quota. Abena also fishes for halibut and black cod.>>click to read<< 12:31
Crab season closures ‘devastating’ for Bering Sea fishing family
For Kodiak’s Gabriel Prout, crab fishing is both an occupation and a way of life. “There’s something special about being on the water and being a Bering Sea crab fisherman,” said Prout, whose father spent 45 years fishing on the Bering Sea. “It’s kind of hard to explain. There is a deep appreciation for what we do and the resource and the job and the work we put in.” In the summer of 2020, Prout and his brothers purchased a boat and took out loans to buy fishing rights. But in the fall of 2022, his family was hit with multiple setbacks. Not only had the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled the Bristol Bay red king crab season for the second year in a row, the Bering Sea snow crab season was also canceled. Video, >click to read< 14:04
Understanding the Bering Sea snow crab collapse
The Bering Sea snow crab season was canceled this year after billions of crabs disappeared – devastating a commercial fishing industry worth $200 million dollars and the livelihoods of those who depend on it. Now, fishermen and researchers are working to figure out what happened. On this Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Gabriel Prout, a crab fisherman and owner of the F/V Silver Spray, and Erin Fedewa, a fisheries biologist with the federal government, to discuss the impacts and potential causes of the crash. Video, >click to watch< 10:56
