Saving Seafood

WASHINGTON: Coastal Dungeness crab season kicks off after months of testing

February 7, 2025 — The state’s coastal commercial Dungeness crab season is underway, following months of test fishing and data gathering by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

This year’s season opened Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Ore., including the Columbia River and Willapa Bay, and will start Feb. 11 from Klipsan Beach north to the U.S.-Canada border, including Grays Harbor, according to a news release from WDFW.

The Washington, Oregon and California fish and wildlife departments decide season openers each year as part of a tri-state agreement signed in the 1990s to cooperatively manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Per the agreement, the season can open as early as Dec. 1, but opening dates vary and are based on test fishing to determine crab condition.

Over the fall and early winter, WDFW biologists and scientific technicians collected and measured crabs aboard commercial fishing vessels the Department contracts with for test fishing. They also observed seafood processing plants as workers picked out and packed crab meat.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

WASHINGTON: Washington’s Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Launches, Tri-State Management for West Coast Fisheries

February 5, 2025 —  The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has officially commenced the state’s coastal commercial Dungeness crab season, following detailed test fishing and data analysis. Commercial fishers cast their pots in the waters stretching from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula down to Cape Falcon in Oregon, as of January 15, 2025. The much-anticipated crabbing also includes the Columbia River and Willapa Bay regions, while the remaining portion of the season, from Klipsan Beach to the U.S.-Canada border and encompassing Grays Harbor, kicks off on February 11, as reported by the WDFW website.

The coordination for the season’s launch is a tri-state affair, with Washington, Oregon, and California fisheries departments working together under an agreement from the 1990s that aims for cooperative management of the Dungeness crab fishery across the West Coast. The agreement outlines potential season openings as early as December 1, with actual dates hinging on the health and condition of the crabs, determined through careful test fishing. Biologists and scientific technicians from WDFW have boarded commercial vessels to collect and measure crabs, ensuring that they achieve a threshold of 23% meat recovery before officially declaring a season opener, which signifies the crabs’ readiness for the market both in terms of quantity and quality.

According to a test fishing trip out of Westport, WDFW coastal shellfish technician Clayton Parson said, “Once you hit that 23% mark, the crabs are improving every day and are ready to be harvested.” This benchmark is crucial considering the Dungeness crab’s economic significance; for instance, the 2023–24 coastal commercial season brought in $66.8 million for the state, as per the WDFW Medium article. Testament to the industry’s value is the record-setting $88.2 million from the 2021–22 season.

Read the full article at Hoodline

OREGON: Oregon issues advisory to crab fleet amid rising whale entanglements

February 5, 2025 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an advisory to the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fleet, urging caution due to the risk of whale entanglements. The advisory follows a recent incident on January 6, when a humpback whale was reported entangled in crab gear, and comes after a record high of four whale entanglements in Oregon crab gear in 2024.

The department’s guidance, which is voluntary, advises the fleet to “remain vigilant and avoid setting gear in areas where whales are transiting or foraging to minimize risk of entanglement.” However, critics argue that these measures are insufficient.

Ben Enticknap, Oceana campaign director and senior scientist, said, “Advice to remain vigilant and keep tight lines is woefully insufficient to protect threatened and endangered whales from becoming fatally entangled in the Oregon commercial crab fishery.”

Enticknap emphasized the need for a more robust conservation plan, stating, “Oregon fish and wildlife managers must act swiftly and decisively to implement a conservation plan that reduces whale entanglements, not one that maintains the status quo.”

Read the full article at KVAL

CALIFORNIA: The $50 million question: Can California’s Dungeness crab fishery coexist with whale conservation efforts?

February 4, 2025 — At 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 4, commercial fisherman Barry Day is 10 miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay, watching the clock. One minute to go until the start of Dungeness crab season.

In the pitch black sea, Day’s radiant orange buoys bob with the promise of a payday. In total, he has set out 250 crab traps. Every buoy is attached to a thin rope that stretches 200 feet down to a cylindrical, metal-and-wire pot on the ocean floor. Day spent the previous month readying the pots: inspecting every piece of wire, splicing and joining ropes, repairing rubber wrappings, painting buoys.

Each trap costs around $300 all accounted for — $75,000 of gear now at the bottom of the ocean. Insurance for his boat and two deckhands is another $30,000. Then there’s the cost of slip space at the harbor. Thirty percent of sales goes to his crew. These are the numbers crawling in the back of his mind as the seconds tick by.

Read the full article at Palo Alto Online

Washington state officers cite group for illegal crab harvesting

January 24, 2025 — Wildlife officers from the U.S. state of Washington caught a group illegally harvesting crabs from the Puget Sound, citing them for multiple violations.

According to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) social media post, officers spotted a group harvesting crab late in the evening off the pier in the city of Mukilteo, just north of Seattle. The officers followed one of the harvesters as they brought crab back to their vehicle, where an inspection revealed dozens of crabs inside a bag and a cooler.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

West Coast whale entanglements up in 2024

December 20, 2024 — Whale entanglements in fishing gear off the Pacific Coast rose in 2024 despite state and federal measures to reduce such incidents, including efforts to deploy “ropeless“ fishing gear that could eliminate risk of entanglements.

Preliminary data from NOAA Fisheries shows 34 whales became entangled in 2024, the highest number since 2018. Another entangled whale was reported off Orange County, California, earlier this month but has not been seen since last week, NOAA said.

NOAA spokesperson Nick Rahaim confirmed the latest entanglement numbers for California, Oregon and Washington state, which were released to the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group on Wednesday and will be publicly released next year.

Read the full article at E&E News

West Coast Dungeness fleets navigate changes, delays

December 11, 2024 — While California’s Dungeness crab fleet waits for delayed waters to open, Washington and Oregon fishermen have geared up for their 2024-2025 seasons under familiar pressures of conservation and commerce. With winter crabbing generally in full swing, balancing marine sustainability with vital economic returns is the focus.

In Washington, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) emphasizes its regulatory approach to protecting marine mammals, citing updates from previous seasons as a foundation for the current year. Measures to reduce entanglement risk remain crucial, with state and tribal co-managers collaborating to meet conservation goals while supporting fishermen. WDFW published a Dungeness Crab Newsletter to go over a report of the 2023- 2024 season and new regulations for this year. Other sources have shared that the Washington Dungeness season will be delayed until the end of 2024.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Dungeness crab season cancelled for remainder of 2024 in California, Washington

December 10, 2024 — Fisheries regulators on the West Coast are further delaying the opening of their states’ respective commercial Dungeness crab seasons due to the presence of humpback whales and low meat quality, with all but a small portion of Oregon’s coast unlikely to open before the end of the year.

On 6 December, the state of California announced it was delaying the start of the commercial crab season for a third time this year, citing the continued presence of blue and humpback whales in the area. The season was initially slated to open on 15 November.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season opening date set

December 9, 2024 — Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open on Dec. 16 from Cape Falcon south to the California border.

The commercial fleet can begin setting baited crab pots in the water in this area on Dec. 13.

Areas north of Cape Falcon will remain closed until at least Dec. 31 due to low meat yields. The season will open in coordination with southern Washington state.

On Friday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ordered another delay in that state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishing season — the third so far this year.

Read the full story at The Oregonian