The Northern Territory's mud crab industry will not supply crabs to the market this Christmas after a decision to close its fisheries for three months.

It came after a harvest strategy assessment found the catch rate of mud crabs in the Arafura West region had fallen below a trigger point.

From November 1 to January 31, there will be no commercial crabbing in Arafura West, which covers a large stretch of the territory coastline.

There will also be a voluntary closure in the Gulf of Carpentaria from December 1 to February 28.

NT Seafood Council chief executive Daniel Capps said the mud crab industry had faced an initial mandatory closure of six weeks, but volunteered for it to go longer.

"The thinking here is, let's act before there is a sustainability issue," he said.

"The industry h

See Full Page