Crabbers set out early this morning (1/9) to wet their gear after as a price was agreed upon between Pacific Seafood processors and the local Oregon coastal crabbers. They have accepted an offer of $2.75 per pound from Pacific Seafoods . Soon locals and visitors will soon be seeing the lights of the crabbing boats on the horizon. You can hear the crab blessing on KSHL and the WAVE radio stations at 7:30 Monday morning.
Oregon has consistently been one of the largest producers of Dungeness crab on the west coast. The dungeness crab season officially opened on December 16th however crab fishermen have been on strike waiting for a price settlement from the processors. They just settled on a price today and vessels have been heading out to set pots before heavy swells hit. Commercial Dungeness crab is Oregon’s most valuable fishery. The 2019 season opening was delayed to Dec. 31 and still brought in the second highest ex-vessel value ever ($72.7 million) with just under 20 million pounds landed, about 12 percent above the 10-year average.
Pots are predominantly set between 10 and 50 fathoms (60-300 feet) although Dungeness crab commonly occur from intertidal areas to 200 fathoms (1200 feet). Crabs are stored live in holds on boats that are filled with re-circulating sea water and are delivered every few days to fish processing plants. There are also live buyers who purchase crab at a usually a little higher price that varies along the coast.