February 10, 2021 3:40 a.m.

After a significant delay, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open in the northern section of Oregon’s coast as of next Tuesday February 16th.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the area has remained closed to commercial crabbing to coordinate an orderly start with the Washington coastal Dungeness crab fishery.

All crab tested from all of Oregon’s crab harvest areas have been well below alert levels for domoic acid, which means all Oregon crab product on the market is safe to eat.

The release said prior to the opener, crab vessels in this area will be allowed to set gear from Saturday onwards, using the “pre-soak” period of time to set gear in anticipation of the first pull of ocean crab pots on Tuesday. The recreational crab fishery is already open in this area and along the entire Oregon coast.

For more information about Oregon’s shellfish marine biotoxin monitoring, go to: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/foodsafety/shellfish/pages/shellfishclosures.aspx