Russia Proposes Extending Snow Crab Fishing Ban in West Bering Sea: Closure from Early December 2026 Through Year-End, Continuing January–March 2027
Russia's Ministry of Agriculture has submitted a draft order proposing additional restrictions on commercial fishing of snow crab (краб-стригун опилио) in the West Bering Sea fishery zone: targeted fishing would be banned from early December 2026, and from January 1 to March 1 in 2027.
Russia's Ministry of Agriculture has submitted a draft order proposing additional restrictions on commercial fishing of snow crab (краб-стригун опилио) in the West Bering Sea fishery zone for 2026–2027. The document has been published on the regulation.gov.ru portal.
According to the draft, targeted snow crab fishing in the West Bering Sea fishery zone would be banned from early December 2026; the 2027 closure period would run from January 1 to March 1.
The biological justification for the restrictive measures notes that the West Bering Sea snow crab population remains at a persistently low level, and the proposed measures are intended to promote the recovery of its resources. Under this approach, halting fishing during the coldest period of the year would help reduce the mortality of individuals released back into the sea by fishermen.
Similar closures were previously implemented from December to February of the following year during 2025–2026.
The draft order was proposed by Russia's Ministry of Agriculture, and the restrictions target targeted commercial snow crab fishing.