December 23, 2022 3:40 a.m.

The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season remains closed until at least January 15, 2023.

A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said round three of pre-season testing shows crabs still remain too low in meat yield on the southern and northern coasts. Elevated domoic acid is still detected in some crab viscera.

Additional crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will occur in the coming weeks. Results will help determine which parts of Oregon could open before mid-January or be further delayed.

The release said while targeted to open December 1st, Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness crab season can be delayed so consumers get a high-quality product and crabs are not wasted. Providing a quality product to consumers is a high priority for the fishing industry and ODFW.

ODFW tests crabs out of Oregon’s six major crabbing ports in partnership with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Oregon Department of Agriculture and the commercial Dungeness crab industry.

Biotoxin information from ODFW is linked: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/FoodSafety/Shellfish/Pages/CrabBiotoxinInfo.aspx