I have heard a great deal about how the closure of our recreational crab season was based on, what seem to be unscientific guesses. My question is how accurate are the tribal harvest numbers?

Can someone explain exactly how tribal harvest numbers are recorded, audited and totaled? Do the tribal harvest numbers reported include ceremonial catches as well? Is the system producing accurate data?

I have a friend who was a non-tribal commercial crabber for many years. He tells me he has watched tribal boats off load what he believes to be tons of crabs, but the buyer’s records show only hundreds of pounds. Just anecdotal evidence, but I hear similar stories regularly. What’s the truth?