Billions of snow crabs have disappeared from Alaska waters

Last year’s snow crab harvest was the smallest in more than 40 years [File: Eric Risberg/AP Photo]

Scientists have been left perplexed after billions of crabs and crustaceans reportedly disappeared mysteriously in the Bering Sea off the US state of Alaska in the last several years.

Ben Daly, a researcher with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), told US media outlet CNN the snow crab population shrank from about 8 billion in 2018 to 1 billion in 2021.