Three U.S. states have now decided to hold off on their commercial crab seasons after dangerous toxin levels were discovered in west coast crab stocks.
According to Bill Peterson, a NOAA oceanographer, a mixture of warmer water and lower nutrient levels incited an algae bloom known loosely as “the blob,” which has affected much of Oregon’s coast.
"These things bloom every year when it's warm," Peterson told KATU News. "So, it wasn't a big surprise to see them bloom, but it was a surprise as it was toxic."
The Dungeness crab season typically begins on 1 December in Oregon, but domoic acid found in crab samples on 20 November has prompted officials from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to announce further cautionary delay on 7 December. Although the presence of demoic acid remains below the levels that typically prompt action, overall trends point toward an increase in acid content over the past couple of weeks, meaning levels could be nearing action-status reported The News Guard.
“Oregon’s commercial crab industry and the Department place a high priority on making sure that seafood consumers can be confident that they are buying a safe, high‐quality, and sustainable product when they purchase Oregon Dungeness crab,” said Kelly Corbett, ODFW commercial crab project leader, to The News Guard.
Foodservice establishments in Oregon note that they typically sell high volumes of Dungeness crab before Christmas. Seafood sellers, like Tony's Fish Market in Oregon City and Greg Petrich, are stuck selling Dungeness bay crabs in the meantime, which aren’t as tasty or safe to eat as their counterparts, Petrich told KATU News.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture is working closely with fishery management in Washington and California to determine when commercial Dungeness crab season can proceed.
