Assessment and advice of Snow Crab in West Greenland 2009. Technical Report No. 74

This report documents the scientific basis for the assessment of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) stocks in 
West Greenland. Snow crabs are patchily distributed and commercially exploited along the coast and within 
the fjords. The fishery is managed by quotas and assessed when data are available within the inshore and 
offshore of 6 management areas (Upernavik, Uummannaq-Disko Bay, Sisimiut, Maniitsoq-Kangaamiut, 
Nuuk-Paamiut and Narsaq-Qaqortoq. The report briefly updates and summarizes the historical background 
of commercial crab fishing, which includes catch, effort, CPUE and spatial distribution of the fishery, as well 
as the results from scientific surveys undertaken by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR).