The crew aboard the FV Misty pulls up a pot of Dungeness crab off of Port Orford, Ore., May 17, 2022. The 2021-2022 season saw record high prices and a punctual start to commercial crabbing right on Dec. 1, 2021.
Arya Surowidjojo / OPB
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season has been delayed coastwide until at least Dec. 16, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.
Pre-season testing has shown Dungeness crabs are too low in meat yield, and some crabs had elevated levels of the toxin domoic acid in two areas on the southern Oregon coast.
Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness crab season typically opens each year on Dec. 1, but it can be delayed so consumers get a high-quality product and crabs are not wasted.
The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing is planned for the coming weeks. Those results will help determine if the season opens Dec. 16 or is further delayed. It may also be split up 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, the 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.
Last year, during the 2023-24 season, the commercial Dungeness crab season was delayed and opened in stages due to low meat yield. Commercial fishermen landed 24.7 million pounds of crab at an ex-vessel value of $93.6 million.
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