Crab season postponed again

Starting date is now Jan. 16

For the first time in at least a decade, the opener for the commercial Dungeness crab season will be pushed to mid-January on the North Coast.

Quality tests from this week show that the crabs will not be meaty enough to harvest by the current Dec. 16 opening date, which will be delayed to Jan. 16, said Marija Vojkovich, marine regional manager of the California Department of Fish and Game.

“What we’re now experiencing is very random occurrences of crab being definitely full in one port and the next port is in the toilet,” said Vojkovich. “It’s been very odd.”

The season was originally scheduled to open Dec. 1, but the first quality tests prompted a two-week delay. The crabs’ slow growth has prompted an even later starting date: Jan. 16.

Crescent City crabs came in at 22.1 percent meat mass, projected to be 22.9 percent meat mass by Dec. 15 — still below the 25 percent meat mass requirement for quality crab.

Eureka’s crabs were 20.7 percent. Trinidad’s were 19.3 percent, and Fort Bragg’s 24.3 percent meat mass. 

Although Oregon’s crab season usually opens at the same time as Northern California, its season will still open Dec. 15 — except for Brookings.

The southern portion of Oregon from just north of Gold Beach southward will be lumped in with Northern California’s delay, as Brookings’ crabs came in at 22.4 percent meat mass.

On Thursday, fisheries managers and industry representatives agreed on the delay.

“I didn’t hear any dissension,” Vojkovich said. “It was total agreement.”

The California DFG does not have any authority to delay the season past Jan. 16. Although harvesting of less meaty crab could affect the sustainability of the fishery, it’s the industry that prefers delays when the crab are low quality in order to get the best product and the best price, Voj­kovich said.

For many local fishermen, the delay means stretching cash even further.

“It would be nice to have some extra money for the holidays,” said local crab fisherman Corey Munger.  “But nobody wants thin crab.”

Munger has noticed that the crab are far from filled out during recent sport crabbing trips.

Brigg Lindsey, plant manager, for the local Alber Seafoods facility is doing what he can in the wake of the delay.

“We’d love to have local crab, but we have to keep our doors open and get the crab from outside the area,” Lindsey said. “We have to ride out this wave until the season opens here, too.”

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