By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Oregon’s 2024-24 commercial Dungeness crab season is proving quite successful five months into the season. Fishermen have hauled in 23.8 million pounds of crab so far, accounting for a catch valued at $88.9 million during a season that typically runs from December to August. Crabbers were paid $85 million in 2022-23 […]
Dungeness crab
Newport-based Dungeness crab fleet getting better prices this year, but harvest numbers are dropping off
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Word along the docks is the Dungeness crab harvest has dropped off markedly in comparison with this time last season – but prices paid to fishermen are considerably higher. Oregon’s Dungeness season was delayed from its earliest possible start date of Dec. 1 to allow crab in certain coastal zones to gain […]
West Coast crabbers rush to aid counterparts in Ilwaco, Wash. after fire destroys thousands of pots
By ISABELLA BREDA/The Seattle Times ILWACO, Wash. — Deckhand Curtis McKenzie and his captain, Zeke Estrella, of the Sunset Charge pulled up to Ilwaco Landing last Monday to drop off crab pots. The landing, which serves as a hub for Dungeness crab harvests, was oddly quiet, and workers didn’t meet them as they pulled in. […]
ODFW commissioners will consider extending rules Friday to limit crab gear to lessen impact on whales and turtles
By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissioners are expected Friday to indefinitely extend regulations aimed at reducing whale entanglements with commercial crabbing gear. Commissioners, meeting in Salem, are on track to adopt staff recommendations that have been in effect for the past three years. Their vote to adopt the proposed rules indefinitely […]
Despite late start and low prices, Oregon’s Dungeness crab fleet will end 2022-23 season with a near-record catch
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Oregon’s Dungeness crab fleet is winding down a banner year – one nearly for the record books in fact. With little more than a month to go before the close of the season it is doubtful this season’s catch, just north of 31 million pounds, will break the record of 33.7 […]
Federal agency considering sea otter re-introduction on the Oregon coast wraps up eight public open houses
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Federal wildlife officials floating the idea of returning sea otters to the Oregon coast in an effort to re-establish their historic range are also hoping they might help combat the devastation sea urchins are reaping on the underwater ecosystem. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes there is currently a 900 […]
State police cite Dungeness crab fisherman after finding 22 percent of his catch under-sized
Oregon State Police have charged a commercial fisherman from Hebo with cheating on his catch of Dungeness crab after a state biologist noticed that much of the catch he was unloading Dec. 6 was undersized. Richard F. Brown, 56, was cited by OSP game troopers for taking and possessing undersized crab during the unloading […]
Commercial Dungeness crab season will open Dec. 31 along Oregon coast
Fresh Oregon crab will be back on the menu soon — the commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open along all of the Oregon coast Tuesday, Dec. 31, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced. Prior to the opener, commercial crab vessels will be allowed to set gear starting Saturday, Dec. 28, using the […]