Test fishing guides Washington’s coastal commercial crab season

--

From left, WDFW coastal shellfish technician Travis Haring, biologist Zach Forster, and technician Jamie Fuller measure Dungeness crabs during a test fishing trip out of Long Beach. Photos by WDFW.

The state’s coastal commercial Dungeness crab season is underway, following months of test fishing and data gathering by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

This year’s season opened Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Ore., including the Columbia River and Willapa Bay, and will start Feb. 11 from Klipsan Beach north to the U.S.-Canada border, including Grays Harbor.

The Washington, Oregon, and California fish and wildlife departments decide season openers each year as part of a tri-state agreement signed in the 1990s to cooperatively manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Per the agreement, the season can open as early as Dec. 1, but opening dates vary and are based on test fishing to determine crab condition.

Over the fall and early winter, WDFW biologists and scientific technicians collected and measured crabs aboard commercial fishing vessels the Department contracts with for test fishing. They also observed seafood processing plants as workers picked out and packed crab meat.

WDFW coastal shellfish biologists Robert Morgan (left) and Bryce Blumenthal measure Dungeness crabs during a test fishing trip out of Westport.

Meat recovered from the crab must reach at least 23% of the total body weight before Washington’s season opens. This threshold indicates a crab has molted, or shed its old shell and developed a hard shell, and that it will be in marketable condition with greater meat quantity and quality by the season opener.

“Once you hit that 23% mark, the crabs are improving every day and are ready to be harvested,” said Clayton Parson, a WDFW coastal shellfish technician.

This marketability is crucial, as Dungeness crabs support Washington’s most valuable commercial fishery and are a major source of economic activity in coastal communities such as Westport and Ilwaco. The value of state landings for the 2023–24 coastal commercial Dungeness crab season was $66.8 million, surpassed only by an $88.2 million record set during the 2021–22 season.

Per the agreement between Washington, Oregon, and California, fish and wildlife departments conduct test fishing from November to December, with optional tests in October and January. Each department determines the number and location of test areas in its state. WDFW samples crab in the Westport and Long Beach areas to determine season openers north and south of Klipsan Beach.

A 23% meat recovery threshold applies to testing areas north of Cascade Head near Lincoln City, Ore., and a 24% threshold applies to testing areas from Cascade Head south to Point Arena, Calif. Each state stops test fishing within an area when it meets the meat recovery threshold, and the three states work together to coordinate season openers in areas where crab have met the threshold.

A Pacific Seafood employee packs Dungeness crab meat at the company’s processing plant in Westport.

WDFW conducts a pre-test in late October to get an idea of crab quality and when the season will likely open. Official tests follow this schedule:

  • Pass in early November — Season opens Dec. 1.
  • Pass in early December — Season opens Dec. 16.
  • Pass in mid-to-late December — Season opens Dec. 31.

If necessary, the Department conducts an additional test in early January. Passing means the season opens Jan. 15.

Westport, which typically passes first, met the 23% threshold for the 2024–25 season in mid-December, and Long Beach passed in early January.

WDFW coastal shellfish technicians Michelle Joseph (far right) and Meghan Chaney observe crab meat packing at Pacific Seafood’s processing plant in Westport.

Sometimes the state season opens coastwide on the same date, but usually it opens south of Klipsan Beach first. Opening north of Klipsan Beach depends on harvest management plans developed each year between WDFW and tribal co-managers. These agreements equalize harvest opportunity within the four coastal treaty tribes’ Usual and Accustomed fishing areas and include provisions such as earlier seasons for the smaller tribal fleets and special management areas closed to state fishers.

The Department sells the crab caught during test fishing trips to reimburse vessel operators and pay for future test fishing. Pacific Seafood processes crab meat from the Westport test fishery, and South Bend Products does the same for Long Beach.

Test fishing protocols are standardized among Washington, Oregon, and California, with the same test areas and depths, measured in fathoms, fished each year. One fathom equals 6 feet.

For both test fishing and commercial crabbing, pots are typically set in a string, or series of pots in a straight line.

“We set pots in three different sites for each testing area the day before the test fishing trip,” Parson said. “Each site has strings set at three different depths: 15 fathoms, 30 fathoms, and 45 fathoms. In each string we have six pots, so we have a total of 54 pots to collect at each testing area.”

WDFW coastal shellfish technician Clayton Parson records data during a test fishing trip out of Westport.

WDFW staff randomly select 100 legal-sized male crabs per string to grade as hard-shelled or soft-shelled, further dividing them into subcategories to provide more details on each crab’s condition. If over half of the crabs are hard-shelled, meat recovery is likely to reach the 23% threshold. Department staff retain all legal-sized male crabs caught during each test, regardless of shell condition, and use them to determine the meat recovery rate.

“Washington’s test fishery would not be possible without the participation of commercial fishers,” said WDFW Coastal Shellfish Manager Matthew George. “Crabbing is difficult in the winter months, and we greatly value the time and effort test fishing vessels put in to open the season.”

Crabs along Washington’s coast have been molting later in recent years, delaying season openings, George said. The Department is investigating whether changes in molt timing are linked to broader climate trends.

“The farther in each direction you move away from the Columbia River, the faster the crab tend to harden and fill out,” George said. “Crabs along the coast molt at different times, and oceanography and food availability within each area can factor into when they are ready.”

Dungeness crabs caught during a test fishing trip off the Washington Coast.

WDFW has hired a new climate and ecosystem research scientist to evaluate how climate research could inform fishery conservation and management.

“For example, could temperature anomalies off the coast play a role in crab development? A better understanding of how climate affects the lifecycle and molt timing of crabs can improve how we manage the resource,” George said.

Improving the fishery’s climate resiliency is part of the updated Coastal Dungeness Crab Policy, which the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved in October.

Refer to WDFW’s website for more information about the coastal commercial Dungeness crab fishery. Review our 2024–25 Washington Coastal Dungeness Crab Fishery Newsletter for more information on the current season and a recap of last season.

--

--

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Written by The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is dedicated to preserving, protecting and perpetuating the state’s fish and wildlife resources.

No responses yet