There is an outlook that blue crab catches could decline this fall. Although the blue crab stock is ample, the range of its main habitat has expanded, making it likely that catch per vessel will fall.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science on the 21st projected blue crab catches in the West Sea during this year's fall fishing season at 12,000–16,000 tons. That is 69–92% of the 17,423 tons caught in last year's fall season.
It is not that the blue crab stock in the West Sea has decreased. As the influence of the Yellow Sea bottom cold water has weakened, blue crab grounds are dispersing across the entire West Sea, which will lower catch efficiency per net, the institute analyzed.
An official at the institute said, "As the Yellow Sea warm current strengthened last winter, blue crab recruitment increased," and "a survey conducted on Jul. 7 found the average distribution density of blue crabs at 345 kilograms per square kilometer, about 2.4 times higher than last year."
Kwon Sun-uk, head of the institute, said, "Blue crab resources in the West Sea have recently remained relatively stable, but catch efficiency is expected to decline due to the dispersion of fishing grounds," and "we will focus our research capacity on reducing uncertainty in the fishing industry based on solid scientific evidence."