Bad weather throughout the Northwest United States this month has led to low landings and high prices for Dungeness crab.
Prices were already higher than last season before the season began. In Oregon, crabbers negotiated a starting rate of USD 3.10 per pound, up from USD 2.65 a pound in 2013. Then, on 6 December, processors agreed to raise the price to USD 3.50 and applied the price retroactively back to the start of the season.
“The big storm took a lot of guys off of the water for four to five days. I don’t think they were seeing as much crab in their pots and there is still not as much crab in their pots [as last season],” said Hugh Link, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
“What started as a promising season quickly went downhill. The early numbers were good, but then 30 to 40 crab pots turned into five to six crab pots. The weather has been harsh too,” said a Northwest distributor. The combination of bad weather and low supply has driven prices up to around USD 6 per pound wholesale, according to the distributor.
While the distributor has been able to buy “adequate supplies,” the product is moving quickly because of retail promotions.
“The real problem this year is that there are not very many crab,” another Northwest distributor agreed. “The market for live crab is very quiet.”
Oregon landed nearly 3.7 million pounds by Christmas this year, but last season, more than 14.2 million pounds total were landed.
California buyers were also reporting record-high prices with low landings as the season began in early December. Last season, California landed 6.7 million pounds of Dungeness crab, a steep drop from the 16.7 million pounds for the 2012-2013 season.
In Washington state, where only the southern coastline was open in December, landings were also lower and prices were stronger – USD 3.49 a pound FOB on average versus USD 2.80 per pound FOB for the 2013-2014 season. For the first 17 days of the opener, the state landed nearly 1.2 million pounds.
“The catch is down. I’m sure weather has played a part,” said Dan Ayers, coastal shellfish manager, for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
However, the crab quality is very good, and, in pre-season testing, the WDFW discovered a higher abundance of juvenile crab, which should bode well for next season.
