The Dec. 1 commercial Dungeness crab season has been delayed until at least Dec. 16 for the entire Oregon coast as testing shows crabs are too low in meat yield.
The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season in Oregon, targeted to open Dec. 1, can be delayed to ensure a high-quality product for consumers and to avoid wasting the resource. Crab quality testing in early November showed a number of the test areas did not meet the criteria for a Dec. 1 opening. The delayed opening will allow crabs to fill with more meat.
A second round of crab quality testing will occur after Thanksgiving and results will be used to determine if the season should open Dec. 16, be further delayed or be split into areas with different opening dates.
Crabs were also tested for domoic acid along the entire coast, and all samples were found to be safe for human consumption. However, due to elevated levels of domoic acid detected in razor clams in some areas, testing in Dungeness crabs will continue regularly north of Cape Perpetua.
In conjunction with the delayed ocean commercial season, commercial harvest of Dungeness crab in Oregon bays that are currently open will close at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 1 but may reopen if the ocean commercial fishery opens in December.
Commercial Dungeness crab is Oregon’s most valuable fishery. The 2019 season opening was delayed to Dec. 31 and still brought in the second highest ex-vessel value ever ($72.7 million) with just under 20 million pounds landed, about 12 percent above the 10-year average.
Oregon, California and Washington coordinate Dungeness crab quality testing and the commercial season opening dates. California and Washington also are delaying their commercial seasons to at least Dec. 16.
November 21, 2020 at 12:03AM
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Commercial Dungeness crab season delayed | Local News | theworldlink.com - Coos Bay World
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