Please consider submitting and/or attending the International Symposium and Workshop on Ecological and Economic Sustainable Crustacean Fisheries, where I will join other experts from diverse fields to discuss the fascinating and dynamic world of crustacean markets, which in my humble opinion provide a wonderful lens into larger workings of our changing climate and the economic and ecological conditions it affects.

The workshop is in Bremerhaven, Germany Dec 1-4, 2026. Lots of crabs, no crabby people!

You can find the call and more information here: CRAB FISHERY CONFERENCE 2026

AND We have a new crab paper:

Economic Management of an Invasion: The Case of the Red King Crab in Norway,” in Marine Resource Economics

by Bui Bich Xuan, Claire W. Armstrong, Melina Kourantidou, Godwin K. Vondolia, Quach Thi Khanh Ngoc, and Brooks A. Kaiser

is now available online at the link connected to our names above.

This one digs in to the complexities of managing the Red King Crab in the Barents Sea as both a nuisance and a valuable harvest. This one may not be for ‘the casual reader’ as it’s got its share of math :-).

Abstract:

This paper presents a bioeconomic model for managing commercially valuable marine invasive species. The model, using Norway’s red king crab (RKC) fisheries as a case study, emphasizes the balance between ecological control and economic benefits. It integrates spatial management, enforcement, the effects of harvesting subsidies in ecological protection zones, and illegal fishing. Model analysis indicates that Norway’s current spatial management of RKC, which separates quota-regulated area from removal area, may overestimate stock and quotas. This overestimation may result from a failure to fully account for the side effects of subsidies and noncompliance. Our study reveals that this type of spatially contrasting management regime can create incentives for noncompliance, highlighting the need for careful policy design in spatial management for commercially valuable invasive species. Ultimately, this contribution is both timely and illustrative of management dilemmas increasingly encountered with other invasive species where control and commercial use coexist.

Cover image credit:”Crab” by cosmorama is licensed under CC BY 2.0.