The U.S. West Coast Dungeness crab fishery is stable or increasing, according to the first thorough population estimate carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Some of the most drastic increases were seen in central California, where crab numbers have increased steadily over the past 20 years and currently average almost five times the estimates from 1970 to 2000. Populations in central California are now rivaling numbers seen in northern California, Oregon, and Washington state.
“The catches and abundance in central California… is pretty remarkable to see year after year,” NOAA research scientist Kate Richerson said in a press release.
Richerson, who is based at the NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington, was a lead author in the study “Nearly a half century of high but sustainable exploitation in the Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) fishery,” which was published in Fisheries Research in February.
According to Richerson, the regulations govern Dungeness fishing are key to protecting the stocks. Male crabs are able to reproduce for one to two years before they are allowed to be harvested. Female crabs have the ability to store sperm and can reproduce without the help of male crabs. Crabbers haver to throw back females as well, which also aids in maintaining and growing the population.
“The management system that is used for Dungeness crab seems to be a perfect fit for their life history because it allows the population to reproduce and grow even with the intensive harvest,” Richerson said.
Though other recent studies have raised the possibility of ocean acidification dissolving the shells of the crabs, Richerson said that her study had not yet detected noticeable signs of “population-level impacts” as a result of the ocean absorbing more carbon dioxide and lowering marine pH levels.
The report will likely be welcomed by crabbers, who had to endure a commercial season that was delayed because crab sizes were too small and samples were too low in meat. As a result, fishermen missed the lucrative Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.
Photo courtesy of Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock
