Crabs are taking over AFS

It's that time of year again: the American Fisheries Society Alaska Chapter meeting! This year it's being held in our very own Juneau (yay! No flights for me!!). What's that you say, will there be any crab talks? Yes, oh yes.

Highlights of the meeting:

Crustaceans Are Cooler: Fisheries and Biology

of Crabs and Shrimps in Alaska

Chair: Ginny Eckert, UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences

Wednesday 9:45 – 11:25 am and 1:00 - 2:40 pm

Defining Genetic Population Structure of Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas - Greg Albrecht

Variability in Reproductive Potential of Eastern Bering Sea Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, in Relation to Spawning Stock Demography -  Joel Webb

Reproductive Indices of Male Snow Crab Chionoecetes opilio from the Eastern Bering Sea - Marilyn Zaleski (me)

Alaskan Crab Fisheries: An Historical Perspective - Courtney Lyons

Factors Influencing Snow Crab Recruitment: A Comparison Across Ecosystems - Laurinda Marcello

Red King Crab Paralithodes camtschaticus Larval Supply, Settlement Timing, and Benthic Habitat Structure - Jodi Pirtle

Growth Physiology of Juvenile Red King Crab Paralithodes camtschaticus Reared Under Laboratory Conditions - Miranda Westphal

Recruitment Mechanisms of Eastern Bering Sea Tanner Crab, Chionoecetes bairdi - Jon Richar

Crabs Are Not so Cool When it Comes to Management - Shareef Siddeek *

Should Some Minimum Size Limits be Amended? – Pribilof Islands Tanner Crab - Bill Bechtol *

* heavy hitters! (all the rest are student presenters)

Evolutionary/ Genetics Perspectives on Alaska Fisheries

Chair: Megan McPhee, UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences

Thursday 8:40 – 9:00 am

Alaskan red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) population genetic structure - Scott Vulstek

Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems

Chair: Gordon Kruse, UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences

Thursday 10:35 - 10:55 am

Recolonization, Prey Selection and Resource Competition by Sea Otters, Enhydra lutris, in Southern Southeast Alaska - Zac Hoyt (This one doesn't sound crabby, but Zac is looking at sea otter predation on commercially valuable inverts including Dungeness crabs and Tanner crabs.)

Poster Session

Thursday from 11:55 am – 1:45 pm

Populations of ocean shrimp Pandalus jordani in the Gulf of Alaska - Aaren Ellsworth

The decorator dilemma: How Oregonia gracilis chooses what to wear - Greg Albrecht (student); Brenda Konar

Effects of larval rearing temperature on large-scale production of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) - James Swingle; Benjamin Daly (student); Jeff Hetrick; Ginny Eckert

Blue Genes: Population structure and paternity in blue king crabs (Paralithodes platypus) - Jennifer Stoutamore (student)

Long-term intra-cohort distributional shifts in the eastern Bering Sea population of Tanner crab, Chionoecetes bairdi - Jon Richar (student); Gordon Kruse

Seasonal gonad development of Parastichopus californicus in Southeast Alaska--Jessica Davila (student) (I know this isn’t crabby, but it speaks to me.)

I hope to see you there!