November 23, 2021 — Marine toxins, skinny crabs and contentious price negotiations have all had a hand in delaying the start of Oregon’s lucrative commercial Dungeness crab season in recent years.
Not this season — at least not yet.
For the first time in years, commercial Dungeness crab fisheries in Oregon, Washington state and Northern California will begin on the traditional Dec. 1 opener after recent preseason testing showed high meat yield in crabs across the region.
At the same time, domoic acid — and the diatom that produces the naturally-occurring marine toxin — seems to have almost disappeared from ocean waters off Oregon and Washington.
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