Oregon commercial Dungeness season delayed until at least Dec. 16

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife announced Wednesday that the state’s commercial Dungeness crab season will be delayed until at least Dec. 16 because of test results for meat volume and domoic acid.

Targeted to potentially open Dec. 1, Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness season can be delayed if tests do not meet standards for percentage of crab meat and domoic acid in the crab’s guts.

The season rarely opens Dec. 1. For the 2023-24 season, the fishery opened Dec. 16 for the central and southern Oregon coasts; during 2022-23 it opened in stages on Jan. 15 and Feb. 1. The last time commercial ocean crabbing opened Dec. 1 was for the 2021-22 season.

The ODFW said crab did not reach meat criteria in four test areas and there were higher than allowed domoic acid in two of 12 test areas.

Because of those tests, ODFW said the commercial bay crab fishery now under way from near Port Orford to the Washington border will close Dec. 1 in conjunction with the delayed ocean season. The commercial bay crab season runs through Dec. 31 but will only reopen in December if the ocean commercial season does so, the agency said.

In its announcement Wednesday, the ODFW said the next round of testing will determine if the season opens Dec. 16 or is further delayed or split into areas with different opening dates.

ODFW tests crabs out of Oregon’s six major crabbing ports in partnership with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Oregon Department of Agriculture, and the commercial Dungeness crab industry.

Weekly season opening updates are posted online until the decision to open the season is made.

During the 2023-24 season commercial fishermen landed 24.7 million pounds of crab valued at $93.6 million.

The recreational ocean Dungeness crab season is slated to reopen Dec. 1 as scheduled in areas with no elevated biotoxins. Recreational crab harvesting in bays, estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties is currently open from Port Orford to the Washington border.

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