A mostly on-time beginning for the Dungeness crab fishery on the U.S. West Coast is also bringing in higher prices.
Early-season pricing is higher than in previous years and set to move higher still, according to fishermen up and down the coast.
The Dungeness crab fisheries across most of the U.S. West Coast opened Wednesday, 1 December, a rare on-schedule opening after years where the season was delayed due to the presence of whales and domoic acid.
Dungeness fishermen in California’s Del Norte County are netting USD 4.75 (EUR 4.22) per pound for their catch, Crescent City Commercial Fisherman’s Association President Rick Shepherd told the Wild Rivers Outpost.
“That’s the highest price anybody’s seen on this coast,” he said. “The price for crab has gotten up that high before when the volume drops down, but for a starting price at the beginning of the season, that’s the best price anybody ever seen.”
Charleston, oregon-based Hallmark Fisheries made an initial offer of USD 5.00 (EUR 4.44) per pound, according to KMTR. Hallmark General Manager Scott Adams said that’s the highest starting price he can recall the company offering.
Eugene, Oregon’s Fisherman’s Market received its first, 1,500-pound Dungeness Crab shipment from Newport, Oregon, last week and could rise as high as USD 14.00 (EUR 12.43) before the season ends, according to Rob Keiser, the market’s kitchen manager.
"We'll open at USD 8.99 [EUR 7.98] today, and that is the highest price we have opened at," Keiser told KCBY on Friday, 3 December.
Keiser said the market has received a surge in interest in the crustaceans, which are available in the area before Christmas for the first time in years.
"This is going to be really exciting for everybody to get Oregon crab for the first time in seven years for the holidays," Keiser said.
In Humboldt County, California, Comet Fisheries Owner Patrick Burns told the Times-Standard he was receiving triple the rate he received last year for Dungeness crab.
“Last year, we caught very little crab and we basically sold all of our crab off the dock to the public just to get a better price to make ends meet,” he said. “This season, the price is about three times as much for crab in comparison to last year, one of the highest prices that we’ve gotten in an opener, which makes a huge difference.”
However, Burns said Northern California fishermen’s Dungeness catch totals have been low thus far.
“It’s been mediocre for us this year so far. It’s not great, but it’s definitely a lot better than it was last year,” he said. “My prediction is the price will continue to go up, so even catching less crab, we will still be able to make money. That really makes a difference because of the tremendous inflation we are seeing for fuel and parts. Everything is not only expensive but also scarce. There was a shortage of buoys this year and a lot of things were difficult to get ahold of.”
Crescent Seafood Owner Kurt Hochburg, who also operates the F/V Rogue, said while catches weren’t stellar, the higher prices were welcome. He said lower overall availability of crab in the U.S. before the holidays – in part due to shortages from Alaska – is going to be a “huge deal” for both processors and retailers mentioning Costco, Safeway, and Fred Meyer.
“This is the first time we’ve had any real production in a long time,” he said. “Not to mention overseas buyers and everything else. There’s a lot of interest.”
Photo courtesy of David Shao/Shutterstock
