Workers at Wright Tide Seafood in Newport load the first of 500 crab pots on the F/V Apache late Saturday afternoon before heading out to sea. They will be able to pull them Tuesday morning. (Quinton Smith/Lincoln Chronicle)There’s only one day more important than Saturday’s “Dump Day” when Newport’s commercial Dungeness crab fleet can begin dropping thousands of pots off the central Oregon coast. That will be Tuesday morning when the fleet pulls the pots and returns to port with the first Dungeness of the season – just in time for the holidays.
Yaquina Bay in Newport was buzzing all day Saturday with dozens of crabbers making trips out and back to sea on calm waters to set their pots for Tuesday’s opening.
The season is just opening from Cape Falcon – near Manzanita – south to the California border. Crabbing north of Cape Falcon has to wait until crab north of the Columbia River meet minimum requirements for harvest – which will be no earlier than Dec. 31.
Lost Creek Recreation Site south of Newport drew dozens of onlookers Saturday to watch the sunset’s orange glow and the twinkling of the first crab boat lights on the horizon. (Quinton Smith/Lincoln Chronicle)The Dungeness crab fishery is Oregon’s most valuable. Last season – which also started Dec. 16 on the central and south coasts — was the most lucrative in history at $97.1 million paid to crabbers despite a significant drop in the overall catch. The record-breaking payout for 2024-25 is attributed to higher prices paid from the start of the season, which climbed well above $7 before leveling out to a season average of $6.19 a pound. The 2023-24 season average was $3.79 per pound.
No price has yet been set for the Newport fleet, skippers said Saturday. That will now have to wait until they return Tuesday and determine who and where to sell their catch to.
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