January 4, 2019 — The commercial crab season opened off the Washington and Oregon coasts this week, with fishers allowed to pull their pots beginning Friday.
The start of the Dungeness season — combined with a possible dip in demand from China — will likely mean prices will come down locally.
That’s welcomed news for customers who saw near record-high prices over the holidays, said Jon Speltz, owner of Wild Salmon Seafood Market in Seattle.
“It might have been at a historic high,” Speltz said of the prices, which sit at about $14.99-per-pound right now.
Fresh Dungeness crab over the holidays was in such high demand, Speltz said they “were just happy to get live crab.”
The fishery off the coast was delayed this year after tests showed crab had not filled out enough. It can start as early as Dec. 1, but has been pushed back to January over the past few seasons to allow crabs to become meatier, a spokesperson with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
Despite a late start, the season has remained strong over the last few years. More than 23 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of crab were landed in the 2017-18 season. That brought in a record $74.2 million in ex-vessel value.