<P> After the 2005 season, the Alaskan crab industry transitioned from a derby - style season to a quota system . This transition is known as rationalization . Under the old derby style, a large number of crews competed with each other to catch crab during a restrictive time window . Under the new Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system, established owners have been given quotas which they can fill at a more relaxed pace . In theory, it is intended to be safer, which was the main rationale for the change in the fishing rules . The transition to the quota system was also expected to increase the value of crab, by limiting the market of available crab . An influx of foreign crab negated some of these gains during the 2006 season . </P> <P> The rationalization process put many crews out of work as the owners of many small boats found their assigned quotas too small to meet operating expenses; during the first season run under the IFQ system, the fleet shrank from over 250 boats to around 89 mostly larger boats with high quotas . </P> <P> Commercial fishing boats are between 12 to 75 m (39 to 246 ft) in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able to withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea . Each fishing boat sets its own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, often staying out for days or weeks at a time . </P> <P> Fishermen use a box - shaped trap called a pot which consists of a steel frame covered with a nylon mesh . Each pot weighs 600--800 lb (270--360 kg) and a ship may carry 150 to 300 pots . Fish, usually herring or codfish, are placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the king crab reside . The pots are dropped in a straight line (known as a "string") for easier retrieval . Red and blue king crabs can be found anywhere between the intertidal zone and a depth of 100 fathoms (600 ft; 180 m). Golden king crabs live in depths between 100 and 400 fathoms (180--720 m, 600--2400 ft). The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy which is later used for retrieval . After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor (typically one to two days for red and blue king crabs, longer for golden king crabs), the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic winch with a pulley on the end called a "block ." </P>

What is worth more blue crab or red crab