The researchers at the OSU Seafood Research Laboratory are hard at work finding a solution, according to the Daily Astorian:

A shortage of Alaskan pollock and other white-fleshed fish from around the globe has created a supply crisis among manufacturers of surimi, the processed fish protein used to make imitation crab and other shellfish-flavored products.

Jae Park, a professor at Oregon State University’s Seafood Laboratory in Astoria, is working with fellow researchers to find a solution.

Surimi prices have more than doubled in the last two years, according to Park, surimi researcher and consultant to the surimi products industry.

“Fish landings around the world are down, and some seafood processors also are choosing to produce more pollock fillets – especially for the European market – instead of supplying raw material for the manufacture of surimi,” Park said. “This crisis is not going to go away soon. Even if the U.S. pollock situation gets better next year, fish landings of warm-water species in Southeast Asia are down almost 40 percent from five years ago.”

In all seriousness, Krab and other imitation derivatives of Surimi are very important for the food supply because they are great sources of inexpensive protein.

OSU has a huge research and education base in the food sciences: Food Science and Technology, Nutrition, the previously mentioned Seafood Research Laboratory and the OSU Food Innovation Center

-jm