Retail prices of Bristol Bay red king crab are up about 25%, selling for $100 a pound or more this holiday season, but seafood aficionados appear to be largely unfazed.
"We are very lucky and grateful that our customers are ordering similar to last year," said Ryan Reese, co-owner of Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. At 10th & M Seafoods in Anchorage, store manager Tito Marquez said they are busy sending boxes of Bristol Bay red king crab all over the United States and beyond, including 10 20-pound boxes to Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska.
"Crab is expensive," said one seasonal buyer of many years. She said that she and her husband have stopped sending crab to business clients but still didn’t hesitate to purchase two 10-pound boxes of Bristol Bay red king crab for friends in the Lower 48.
Last year, the shop had the same crab for $20 a pound less. Now the average price, shipping included via FedEx, for five pounds of this crab runs to $700. Golden king crab, also very popular, is $79.95 a pound, also up from a year ago.
Fishmongers at Anchorage’s popular specialty supermarket, New Sagaya, have a holiday special offering Bristol Bay red king crab for $79 a pound, and will ship five pounds of this crab for a total of $595.
New Sagaya has similar holiday specials, shipping included, for golden king and bairdi crab legs. Fishmonger John Karl said holiday business there is as brisk as usual.
The Anchorage online seafood retailer FishEx has cut prices at its online store from $4 to $20 a pound on selections including Bristol Bay red king crab for $124.95 a pound, giant snow crab for $46.95 a pound, Norton Sound red king crab for $89.95 a pound, and "colossal" red king crab for $149.95 a pound.
Meanwhile, demand for wild Alaska crab at supermarkets has been minimal. Sales were slow for golden king crab at $44.99 a pound at Fred Meyer stores, and at the Carrs-Safeway seafood counter, sales of red king crab for $79.99 a pound were very slow, merchants said.
The 2025–2026 fishing quota for Bristol Bay red king crab in the Bering Sea is 2.68 million pounds, a notable increase from last year. The fishing season began on Oct. 15.
The harvest quota is split, with 2.412 million pounds going to those with Individual Fishing Quota permits and 268,000 pounds for entities with Community Development Quota permits. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the decision reflects gradual stock improvements, but other areas, including St. Matthew Island blue king crab, remain closed.
