Oregon continues delay of commercial Dungeness crab season coastwide

Coquille River - Coquille, OR (Coos County)


by ODFW
12-8-2017
Website

The opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season will be delayed until at least Dec. 31 along the entire Oregon coast as testing shows crabs are still too low in meat yield in some areas of the coast. 

The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season in Oregon is targeted to open Dec. 1, but can be delayed to ensure a high-quality product to consumers and to avoid wastage of the resource. Crab quality testing in late November and early December showed that half of the areas still did not meet the criteria for an opening. The delayed opening will allow for crabs to fill with more meat. 

Testing will continue to determine if the season should open Dec. 31, be further delayed, or be split into two areas with different opening dates. In conjunction with the delayed ocean commercial season, commercial harvest of Dungeness crab in Oregon bays is now closed for the remainder of the year.

The delay in the ocean commercial season at this time is not directly related to the recent recreational crabbing closures that have affected some areas of the coast (currently, south of the north jetty of the Coquille River to California). These closures are due to elevated levels of the biotoxin domoic acid detected in crab. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) continues to monitor domoic acid levels in crab, and recreational and commercial crabbing in affected areas will remain closed or harvest restrictions will be put in place until test results indicate that crab harvested from them are safe to consume.

Despite the commercial delay and some recreational closures, crab and shellfish products sold in retail markets and restaurants remain safe for consumers. For more information on ODA health closures, call ODA’s shellfish safety information hotline at (800) 448-2474 or visit the ODA shellfish closures web page.

Commercial Dungeness crab is Oregon’s most valuable fishery. Last year’s season opening was also delayed but still brought in the record high ex-vessel value of $62.7 million, with 20.4 million pounds landed (about 22 percent above the 10-year average).




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OR Department of Fish & Wildlife Reports
for Tuesday, December 5th, 2017
Alsea River: Alsea River Fishing Report
Kilchis River: Kilchis River Fishing Report
Nehalem River: Nehalem River Fishing Report
Nestucca River: Nestucca River Fishing Report
Salmon River: Salmon River Fishing Report
Siletz River: Siletz River Fishing Report
Siuslaw River: Siuslaw River Fishing Report
Tillamook Bay: Tillamook Fishing Report
Trask River: Trask River Fishing Report
Wilson River: Wilson River Fishing Report
Yaquina River: Yaquina River Fishing Report
Applegate Reservoir: Applegate Reservoir Fishing Report
Arizona Pond: Arizona Pond Fishing Report
Ben Irving Reservoir: Ben Irving Reservoir Fishing Report
Chetco River: Chetco River Fishing Report
Coos River: Coos River Fishing Report
Coquille River: Coquille River Fishing Report
Diamond Lake: Diamond Lake Fishing Report
Elk River: Elk River Fishing Report
Emigrant Reservoir: Emigrant Reservoir Fishing Report
Fish Lake : Fish Lake Fishing Report
Floras Lake: Floras Lake Fishing Report
Galesville Reservoir: Galesville Reservoir Fishing Report
Garrison Lake: Garrison Lake Fishing Report
Hemlock Lake: Hemlock Lake Fishing Report
Howard Prairie Reservoir: Howard Prairie Reservoir Fishing Report
Hyatt Lake: Hyatt Lake Fishing Report
Illinois River: Illinois River Fishing Report
Lake Marie: Lake Marie Fishing Report
Lake Selmac: Lake Selmac Fishing Report
Lemolo Lake: Lemolo Lake Fishing Report
Loon Lake: Loon Lake Fishing Report
: Lost Creek Reservoir Fishing Report
Plat I Reservoir: Plat I Reservoir Fishing Report
Smith River: Smith River Fishing Report
Tenmile Lakes: Tenmile Lakes Fishing Report
Willow Lake: Willow Lake Fishing Report