The government of New Zealand has given the go-ahead for an exploratory permit to find out if it is possible for its fishermen to commercially catch deepwater king and red crab.
The Ministry of Fisheries gave approval to Crabco Ltd, an umbrella company, which represents other fishing companies involved in catching deepwater crab, for carrying out research and exploratory fishing.
It is believed that both these species could be sold in the market as high-value products in European and Asian countries and also in the United States.
The permit will allow Crabco to ramp up its yearly take from around 60 tonnes to over 1,000 tonnes.
Tony Craig, chairman of Crabco said that the permit would let the company ascertain the nature, distribution, extent, and abundance of the crab.
The fishermen catch the crab which are present at depths of 900 metres to 1,200 metres in pots. Any ‘berried’ egg-carrying females are sent back to the ocean.
King crab, which can grow to lengths of 1.2 metres, are considered a valuable product in the northern hemisphere.
Some 23 varieties of king crab are found in New Zealand, Australian, and Ross Sea areas.
