Crab decline

Recently the number of crabs has begun to decrease. This puts pressure on the whole crabbing industry and may, if nothing is done, lead to the end of commercial crab fishing as a whole. One of the main reasons why a depletion of crab is accruing maybe due to the fluctuation in the Bering Sea’s temperature. This change in temperature can help the crabs reproduce but it also brings in their number one predator the Cod. Also consumption from both the Cod and humans may also be a factor.

“The climate of the Gulf of Alaska also influences Tanner crab populations. Starting in 1977, the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea began to undergo a "regime shift" of increased water temperatures (Royer 1989, Kerr 1992 and Trenberth and Hurrell 1995, cited in Anderson et al 1997). This temperature shift coincided with a decrease in crustacean populations and an increase in predators such as Pacific cod (Anderson et al 1997).” [1] Crabs are apart of a vast network in the aquatic food chain. Unfortunately for them they happen to be one of the lowest species on the list. Crabs are commonly eaten by the Cod fish. Interestingly enough the Cods diet is made up of 91% crab [1].

Humans also a primary culprit of consumption considering in the last year alone in the U.S. only we harvested 10 million pounds of crab. [2] Although it is more difficult to limit the consumption due to Cod it is fairly simple to put more regulations on the crab fishing industry. If more restrictions were in place it would increases the crab numbers in the sea and allow the crab then to have more off spring increasing the total population of the crab. Another alternative is to start raising crabs in a controlled environment. If we were to do that it would be safer for the crabs and it would be another way to reach the crab quota.

With the number of crabs dropping in the sea due to human interaction in the world it is clear that something must be changed in our daily lives. It is humans that are creating the climate change that is bringing in more predators to the crabs and it is humans that are harvesting vast quantities of crabs yearly. To not only save the crab population but also the crabbing industry intervention is a must. Action needs to take place in Alaska to save the depleting crabs.

Reflection

"Let’s watch Deadliest Catch" is the fraise that my little brother Trenton would frequently state as he entered my front door. It was those days that I remember. That is the reason that I wanted to learn a little more and have a deeper understanding of the business and the type of work that it takes to run an efficient crab boat. During my research I learned about environmental issues that are affecting the crabbing industry. This project is very different and unique from any other project that I have ever done before. Creating the blog was very interesting and fun. Designing my on blog was creative and made me want to bet more involved in my project because in was an interesting take on a research project.
Some things that I have learned about and that are very interesting are the climate of the sea, controversy between the people in the industry, what crabbing is and how it got started and a poll on what people thought of the product, crab.
Threw all of my research and time spent learning and understanding what my topic truly is I have learned a lot. I have learned that due to climate change the Bering Sea is warming up and the ice isn't freezing over. This may seam like a good thing but it isn't, not for the crabs any way. The crabs need the frozen ice so that they can reproduce in the winter time. Much like a den the ice freezes over protecting the crabs and providing the perfect temperature for the eggs to hatch and grow. If the temperature continues to raise the reproduction rate will decrees. Also in the controversy of crabbing some people feel that working for that short amount of time that hard isn't right. People say that it is unethical while others like Jake Harris feel that it is the best way to earn a living. Crabbing has been an age old tradition that Jake is now fallowing. Like his father and father before him Jake is a crabber. Although there are advancements in the industry crabbing is fairly similar to what is was twenty years a go when the crab bust hit sending many boats out of business, and extremely different from 100 years ago when it all got started. Now crab boats use winches steal traps enormous holding tanks and run nearly 24 hours and straight into the next.
I have learned that to be a crabber you have to be strong willed, determined and ruthless in the hunt to catch the most crab. I have a deeper appreciation for these hard working men and am exited to continue learning about them. But I wonder; what do these men do in the off season?

Controversy

Crabbing is a very controversial topic. Crabbing is a high risk high pay job that, depending on a persons personality, limits the number of people that even apply of the job.
"There are a few requirements and recommendations for anyone considering a career in commercial crab fishing.The commercial crab fishing industry in Alaska is one of the deadliest jobs a person can do. According to The Alaskan King Crab website, the job has a fatality rate that is 90 times greater than the average U.S. worker. Specific dangers include working out on the open water in adverse weather conditions. Fisherman have to work with nets, cables and various other pieces of equipment that are constantly in motion. One simple, misplaced step can see a fisherman sent overboard in freezing cold water. The fishing boats are often very small due to the flexibility they offer, but a small boat has a far greater chance of capsizing in incidences of bad weather and rough water." This author talks about the dangers of crabbing and how fishermen have to be alert at all times to stay alive and to protect the fellow crew members. The author says " the risk is so high that it comes down to a persons deicer to make money, if I were put in the situation I would turn it down." This author doesn't have the determination that some other people do.
Other people such as Jake Harris enjoy the pay. "My dad pays well (he laughs) I enjoy being on the water and crabbing. It's a thrill that I live for and on. I work hard for my share just like everyone else on this boat."[2] When asked what he thought about the danger he said " ya it's dangerous there are so many moving parts and different peaces of equipment that can chop your hand or arm off. The man thing is to stay alert at all times."[2] "this has to be the hardest job mentally and physically because both are in motion at all times."[2] Jake is one of the few fishermen who enjoy making lots of money and working extremely hard for it.
Crabbing isn't for the faint of heart but for a person who can deal with long hours and hard work. Despite the hard work, the job still gets complete by those who take the risk, and those who don't enjoy the fruits of their labor.




[1] http://www.livestrong.com/article/205209-commercial-crab-fishing-in-s-e-alaska/
[2]http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/crews/jake-harris.html

The Poll

Polls are used nearly every day to give a ARBITRARY opinion about a variety of issues. That is still the case here as we examine the other side, the consumer side of the crabbing industry. The key to a good poll is having many people participate in your poll. Unfortunately I am not cool enough for my friends to help me out.
For my poll questions I asked people what they thought of crab. I asked them about the taste and how much they enjoyed it. I also asked them how often they eat crab. The reason that I asked they this is because the less often you eat something the more delicious it is, like stake or cake. I wanted to know where the market is for crab.
I asked people how they would rate the taste of crab. I expected most people would say that the taste of crab is unique and delicious. I was surprised to find that I was incorrect. Out of the three people that took my poll only two said that it was okey and one even passed on it. How could this be when crab hard to get in Colorado so it isn't oftenly eaten by people who live here. Maybe the more often a food is eaten the more popular it is? That is why I asked the question, "how often do you eat crab?" to verifie my hypothesis.
It turns out that the two people who participated in my poll have never eaten crab before. This is shows that not everyone in Colorado eats crab. This shows that when food is easily obtained it is enjoyed more then food that is not.
It is dificult for me to conclude my poll because of the lack of participating in my polls. None the less the results that I ENCOUNTERED are still true. Although the results that I expected did not happen a sensible answer to my hypothesis. Through my polls I proved that the market for crab is not in the middle of the the country but on the coast where crab is more abundant.

National Science Foundation Review

National Science Foundation Is a government agency that posts information on every aspect of science. This page includes multiple areas including physics, new discoverers, field work, space, environment and much more. If new in formation is found it has to be posted on this web sit. This website has been created by the government to in form the public what is going on in the science world in America. The sit was last updated in 2006 which means that no major news has been discovered.
The sit is very easy to use, its simple. On the side there are links that rang from Information from the field to anything about physics. The site sections information into general areas that makes it easy to funnel out information that doesn't have to do with your topic. Every topic has credibal information in it and it is easy to understand and fallow. There are also pictures on your topic to make it easier to understand. Also there is a search bar at the top of the page that allows you to type in your topics and all related info will show up, is it is included in the site. the blog is well written and is full of sensible information that applied to my topic. The page was easy to read and looks good.

Current Events

Many people know, or don't believe, that the world is under going a change in the environment. Areas all over the world are under going changes that are out of the norm or opposite to that of the normal ecosystem. With the shift in the ecosystem it effects everything from the water to the land, and all the animals and plants the are inhabited there.

This is directly tainting the ecology of bodies of water around the world. The change that is happening is that the world is heating up and effecting the waters that including the fertile Bering Sea,m and the crab that reside there. "Those highly productive waters currently act as sponges for carbon dioxide, absorbing quantities of the gas that otherwise would remain in the atmosphere where it would be expected to contribute to warming. But, the researchers say, if the biological trends they observe in the northern Bering Sea persist and are not reversible, the accompanying shift in species and ecosystem structure could have important implications for the role of the sea as a "carbon sink."Whats happening to the sea is because the water is warmer there is less ice cover over the sea."

Because the sea is heating up the sea ice isn't freezing over solid. " In the northern Bering Sea, ecological changes are occurring in the context of shifts in the quality of the sea ice. The ice there is broken and thin compared with ice floes that were more the norm." The less ice there is in the Bering sea the less crab are going to be in that area. The crab enjoy and need the frozen water to live. If this continues crab fishing as a industry may be terminated but to climate change.


Carroll, Amy. "Alaska’s Crab Fishery: Big Money Days are Gone." Alaska Wildlife News Online Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2010. .

Back ground

Crabbing has been a ruff and rigorous job sense the mib 1900's. Some of the most fertile waters are of the coasts of Alaska, Japan and Russia. Crabbing started of with high profits for fishermen all across the board. Japan was the first to start the hunt in the 1940's. Shortly after the USSR and the Americas started fishing also as the hunt for crabs exploded. Dutch Harbor Alaska produced one of the highest yields on record of 33 million pounds of crab. At this point in crab history the numbers of crabs being landed start to take off. By 1981 the industry reached its peak yield of 200 million pounds of crab landed on all shores. The next season the crab count dropped by 10% closing many fisheries. As crabbing continued and the crabs landed were low regulators started to step in and take more control over the amount of crabs caught on each boat. Before 2005 there where very few regulations on crabbing, they called the fishing style Derbying. They called it that because the boats would "Derby" out to the fishing grounds and catch as much as possible. After 2005 regulators limited the amount of crabs that were aloud to be caught on the bouts thus establishing a quota. After the quota was put in place the next count came in at 14 million pounds in four days on 250 boats. With the high count Discovery Channel came out with a show called deadliest catch showing the ruff and rigorous job of being a crab fisherman.

General Overview

Intro

For my English 4 blog project I decided to research the job of a Deep Sea Crabber, like those out in the Bering Sea. I wanted to choose a topic that was interesting but also had so controversy surrounding it. the controversy that is at play here is environmental issues. Things such as, gas consumption, Crab waste,and other such topics. I want to find out if there is a environmental problem that these Crabbers are creating. As I research I will expose and depict what the everyday life, the costs, dangers, proses on deck, proses after the boat, and other topics that include the crabber. My purpose for my project is to educate people about the occupation of Crabbing and the environmental issues that surround it.