About 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from Bering Sea waters between 2018 and 2021, forcing fisheries to shutter in Alaska last winter and threatening the state’s economy.
Rising ocean temperatures in Alaska s Bering Sea have caused a disappearance of snow crabs, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This has led to the cancellation of the snow crab harvest season for the second year in a row. The study suggests a connection between marine heat waves and the loss of snow crabs. Warmer temperatures and higher population density have been identified as factors contributing to increased mortality among the crabs.
About 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from Bering Sea waters between 2018 and 2021, forcing fisheries to shutter in Alaska last winter and threatening the state’s economy.
A large population of snow crabs in the eastern Bering Sea collapsed after a marine heat wave in 2018 and 2019 that multiplied the crabs' caloric needs and drove them to starvation.
Over the past few years, billions of snow crabs have unexpectedly disappeared from the Bering Sea. What happens to the Indigenous people who depend on them for survival?