Oregon Dungeness crab is running short this season, forcing buyers to compete for supply.
“It is definitely a seller’s market. [The shortage] has caused buyers to scramble to put up enough frozen inventory to meet their demands for the rest of the year,” said Nick Furman, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
Landings this season, which was delayed by two weeks due to winter storms, are significantly lower than last year.
Last season’s yield was approximately 23 million pounds. But so far this season, only 10.5 million pounds have been landed as of 3 January. Typically, the bulk of the harvest occurs in the season’s first eight weeks.
“Now it is pretty evident that we are not going to meet or exceed last year’s production. We will probably have an above-average harvest at 13 to 15 million pounds, but that is subject to change,” said Furman.
As a result of limited supply — and limited fishing in the derby-style system — competition for fresh Dungeness crab has heated up and prices are running higher than normal.
Ex-vessel prices for Oregon Dungeness crab are USD 2.40 a pound on average.
“Those are the prices we hear later in the summer, when pickings are slim. Cash buyers who come from out of state are reportedly paying USD 2.60 to USD 2.80 a pound on average,” said Furman.
At wholesale, whole-cooked 2- to 2.5-pound frozen Dungeness crab is selling for between USD 4.20 and USD 4.40 on average. Frozen ocean-run clusters are averaging USD 5.45 to USD 5.70 and higher.
Demand from buyers overseas is also picking up, which will drive up prices.
Exports of all frozen Dungeness crab and crabmeat soared in 2010, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The volume exported from the United States increased from 339,000 pounds for the period of January through November 2009 to 892,000 pounds in 2010.
