Dungeness crab seasons are staggered to start along the U.S. West Coast this year, with Oregon pulling its first pots on Wednesday, 16 December, and California soon to follow on 23 December. Washington, meanwhile, won’t start its season until at least 1 January, 2021, due to the elevated presence of marine toxin domoic acid in sample crabs.
This week marked the kickoff to Oregon’s Dungeness crab season, although it has yet to pan out in a typical fashion, according to a report from NBC 16. The news outlet discovered several commercial vessels still tied up at the docks, a holdup some fishermen are attributing to ongoing price negotiations with processors. Others speculate that the season’s hitch could come down to a number of factors, including impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Some of them might have product in cold storage, COVID, workforce might be an issue, weather could be an issue – I think it's multiple factors right now," Scott Hartzell, the captain of the Ossian fishing vessel, told NBC 16.
Further down the coastline, California crabbers are finally preparing for a 23 December opener after over a month-long delay, the Mendocino Beacon reported. Originally scheduled to begin on 15 November, officials moved out the season’s start in the state’s central zone in an effort to protect migrating whales from fishing gear entanglements. In the state’s northern zone, which consists of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte counties, Dungeness season was put on hold after sample catch failed to reach the poundage required for testing.
“Recent survey data indicate most whales have started their annual migration out of the fishing grounds,” according to a statement by state officials quoted by the newspaper. “Whale entanglement risk still exists, but it is low. Thus, the opening declaration is accompanied by a notice to the fleet to use best fishing practices and avoid areas where whales may be congregating, including around the canyon edges of Monterey and between the Farallon Islands and Point Reyes.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) was considering a preliminary recommendation of a 16 December opener, however, after reviewing scientific data and consulting with the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, the agency opted to delay for seven days.
“This gives the fleet extra time to get ready and get their gear in the water, certainty in that we’re opening statewide, hopefully the chance to get part of the holiday market, and an additional seven days for any remaining whales to migrate,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said in an announcement regarding the decision, which is being hailed as a success for the agency’s Risk Assessment Mitigation Program dedicated to “[striking] a balance between the needs of the commercial Dungeness crab fleet and protection of marine life.”
The Chinook Observer doesn’t anticipate Washington’s commercial Dungeness crab season to get underway until at least 1 January, 2021, due to the volume of marine toxin domoic acid present in potential catch noted by the Tri-State management group as of 8 December.
Traditionally, the state’s season begins on 1 December, the Chinook Observer stated; in 2020, it had been set to start on 16 December, depending on if crabs met the minimum required meat standards. The further delay into 2021 could leave local fishing families and businesses depending on Christmastime paychecks pinched, the newspaper said.
"This decision was based on domoic acid tests of Dungeness crab collected by WDFW and analyzed by the Washington Department of Health (DOH) which shows that areas off Long Beach have crab with their viscera testing above the federal domoic acid action level of 30 parts per million (ppm)," the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in an industry notice sent on 8 December.
Those fishing from the coast of Cape Falcon to Oregon north to the U.S./Canada border are impacted by the delay.
While domoic acid does not harm the crabs themselves, it can cause serious illness or even death in birds and mammals, including humans. The delay will allow for more testing to be conducted, officials said.
"A delay will allow WDFW to conduct more testing to see if domoic acid levels drop prior to announcing the opening of the commercial crab fishery. WDFW follows a biotoxin monitoring plan overseen by [the Department of Health]. The monitoring plan requires two samples, seven to ten days apart where domoic acid is below 30 ppm and domoic acid levels trending downwards to proceed without requiring evisceration. WDFW is in the process of scheduling the next set of required samples," the fishery managers said, as quoted by the Chinook Observer.
Photo courtesy of KennStilger47/Shutterstock
