In coming decades, the ocean conditions that triggered the snow crab crash and harvest closure are expected to be common.

King and snow crab populations in the Bering Sea have plummeted ahead of the harvest season, some by 99% compared to previous years.

Instead of halibut, fisherman are increasingly catching less valuable Pacific cod, voracious bottom feeders whose numbers in recent years have exploded.

Frigid north winds blow down from the Arctic Ocean, freeze saltwater and push sea ice south. The ice normally prevents waves from forming and locks onto beaches, walling off villages. But not this year.

“This is unprecedented in the United States for a mature, rationalized fishery to suffer a stock collapse, in part due to climate change,” the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said.