Earlier this month, Alaska announced that it had canceled the entire snow crab harvest for the year. The sudden shutdown of the snow crab season has left the state shocked.

The population of the species, which lives in the cold waters of the Bering Sea, has fallen below the regulatory threshold for the first time, so they cancelled the harvest in the hope of reviving the species. The crab count was 8 million in 2018 and fell to only 1 million in 2021. The sharp drop is due in part to aggressive commercial fishing, but climate change is a more likely culprit. These creatures thrive in water temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.  The worry is that the waters will not be cold enough to sustain these crustaceans.

We know that animal agriculture is a major factor in climate change. A UN report found that raising meat causes more global warming than all the cars, trucks, trains, planes, boats and ships in the world all put together. A report from scientists at the World Bank found that animal agriculture causes more global warming than all other causes combined.

Fortunately, there are healthier and more environmentally sustainable alternatives. Grab the vegan tartar sauce, because Gardein’s serving up their Mini Cr’b Cakes and F’sh Filets! Good Catch has plant-based crab cakes along with a selection of plant-based fish. Sophie’s Kitchen is a vegan seafood brand that offers breaded shrimp, crab cakes and a wide selection of plant-based fish. Omni foods makes delicious crab cakes too.  Other brands such as Loma Linda offer plant-based fish along with a wide variety of meat substitutes. From what we can tell there’ll be more brands of vegan seafood are coming soon. 

By switching to vegan fish brands, as well as vegan substitutes for other animal products, we can relieve the pressure on the fisheries, and reduce global warming caused by animal agriculture.  Let’s hope it happens quickly enough to save the crabs from extinction.