NEWPORT — Love Dungeness crab, but stymied on both ends by sticker shock at the market fish or not having a boat Whoever said you need a boat? Or even a $10 or $20 bill?
Casey Lee Swayze of Happy Valley has spent much of his life on the Oregon coast, honing his shellfish skills as a landlubber. He’s founded a rapidly growing Facebook page, Oregon Coastal Crabbing and Shellfish, aimed specifically at people without boats and offering a pot-full of helpful tips, maps and tidal advice to help newbies create a crab salad of their own.
In just two years, the page has attracted 76,000 members and will celebrate its second annual “Crabbing Mania” Oct. 25 in Newport centered on the bay’s long crabbing pier accessed from the south shore below the Yaquina Bay bridge and supported by local and Oregon businesses and the City of Newport.
Just about every estuary on the coast has bank or pier access to crabbing, both for pots and for a wide variety of traps cast with hook and line. Even bays without piers – Siletz Bay beach for example – have access from the beach or shoreline.
“It’s a great way to crab for single parents, kids, or anyone without a boat,” Swayze said.
- Bill Monroe/for The Oregonian/OregonLive
