November 22, 2021 3:15 a.m.

For the first time since the 2014-15 season, the ocean commercial Dungeness crab fishery opens as scheduled December 1st along the Oregon coast.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said commercial crab vessels can set gear on November 28th for the presoak period, in anticipation of the first pull of ocean crab pots on December 1st.

In partnership with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission and the commercial Dungeness crab industry, ODFW tests crabs out of Oregon’s six major crabbing ports beginning in early November. This year, crab tested from Oregon’s crab harvest areas have high meat yield and are well below domoic acid alert levels.

The release said the commercial ocean Dungeness crab fishery opening has been delayed the past six seasons due to either low meat yield or domoic levels above the threshold for safe consumption. Fisherman still brought in 12.2 million pounds of Dungeness crab coastwide with an ex-vessel value of $60.6 million dollars.

ODFW said recreational Dungeness crab harvest in the ocean off Oregon also opens December 1st as scheduled in all areas. Recreational crab harvesting in bays, estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers and jetties is currently open coastwide. Recreational crabbers should call the Shellfish Hotline at 800-448-2474 or go to: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/foodsafety/shellfish/pages/shellfishclosures.aspx before crabbing.