[Delevann10]

During Season 18 of the "Deadliest Catch," the F/V Saga was briefly swarmed by a flock of King Eiders as the ship's large sodium lights disoriented the birds and caused a large number of them to crash into the mast. I've always dreamed of hunting King Eiders around St. Paul Island Alaska. Sure I was a little salty, because I would love to mount one of these beautiful birds. I'm sure a few duck hunters/ waterfowl enthusiasts would agree. Imagine how many beautiful male king eiders perished in the collision with the Saga ship! It is extremely frustrating knowing that we can not get collection permits but fishing and crabbing vessels can kill hundreds of birds in a very short period of time. I think sharing this video is a good way to raise public awareness and hopefully generate some solutions/regulations. The long line fishing fleet in South America has had to change their methods in order to reduce Albatross deaths by drowning. As a society we should be smart enough and resourceful enough to stop these horrific kills. I'm friends with a few people that breed King Eiders in captivity and these ducks are very hard to raise / and hard to get them to reproduce. I'm grateful for the many waterfowl enthusiasts that saved Eiders and other seaducks in the Exxon Valdez Oil spill. Yes , I'm a duck hunter. What are your thoughts on this video? Let's not forgot about the "King Eider, the Holy Grail of Waterfowl."

 

[Delevann10]

Hey, I just brought the video up to bring awareness to the guys that duck hunt King Eiders in St. Paul Island, Alaska. That's unfortunate that the King crab season has been canceled in the Bering Sea because the crab numbers have crashed. The King Eider numbers are also declining up around the Bering Sea. There have been more than a few flocks of rare Stellers and Spectacled Eiders colliding with fishing vessels in the past few years. These events just aren't publicized. I would hate to see King Eider duck hunting close in Alaska, just like the close of Spectacled/ Stellers Eider hunting in 1991. We all need to be more aware of and help with the conservation and protection of vulnerable seaducks.

 

[DallanC]

Wasnt it the snow crab season that got cancelled? Or did they cancel Kings on top of the snow crab season?

-DallanC

 

[Delevann10]

The Bering Sea snow crab, Bristol Bay red king crab, Pribilof District red and blue king crab, and Saint Matthew Island blue king crab seasons are closed and canceled for 2022/2023 in Alaska. About a billion crab have gone missing they don't know what happened.