Tag Archives: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon: Commercial Dungeness crab season begins Dec. 16
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery opens Dec. 16 from Cape Falcon (Oswald State Park) to the California border. according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). “Pre-season testing in this area shows crab meat fill meets criteria and domoic acid is below the safety threshold,” a release from ODFW states. Oregon will open the north coast in coordination with southern Washington to ensure consumers get a quality product and crab is not wasted. Dec. 31 is the earliest this area could open. The commercial fleet can begin the presoak period – setting baited crab pots in the water – on Dec. 13 from Cape Falcon to the California border. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Commercial Dungeness crab season delayed until at least Dec. 16
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season is delayed coastwide until at least Dec. 16, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today. Pre-season testing shows Dungeness crabs are too low in meat yield in some ocean areas and have elevated domoic acid in crab viscera (guts) in two areas on the south coast. Targeted to open Dec. 1, Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness crab season can be delayed so consumers get a high-quality product and crabs are not wasted. The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will occur in the coming weeks. Results help determine if the season opens Dec. 16 or is further delayed or split into areas with different opening dates. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:28
Salmon Spotted in Klamath Basin for First Time in More Than a Century
On Wednesday, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist spotted a first-in-a-century sight on a tributary to the Klamath River in the Klamath Basin: A fall-run Chinook salmon. Just weeks after the last remnants of the four hydroelectric dams that used to clog the lower Klamath River were hauled away, concluding what was the largest dam removal effort in United States history, the first salmon was spotted in the Klamath Basin area since 1912, when the first of the dams was installed, blocking fish passage to the hundreds of miles of historic habitat. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:40
Hammond crab fisherman serving jail time for illegal pots
A North Coast man recently found guilty following a 2007 commercial crab enforcement operation off the Oregon Coast began serving his sentence last week in Tillamook County. Dennis Sturgell, 56, of Hammond was lodged in Tillamook County Jail to serve a 30-day sentence after he pleaded guilty in Tillamook County Circuit Court Feb. 6 to two counts of unlawful use of commercial crab pots. Tillamook County Circuit Court Judge Rick Roll handed down a sentence of 30 days and $41,200 in restitution to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commercial Fish Fund. The conviction was the result of a 2007 case when the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division conducted a joint enforcement operation. That was the first year the state of Oregon introduced a limit on the number of commercial crab pots that any one vessel could fish. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:05
Fiercest fisherman roils crabbing world – He has filled boats with crab and fish, and he has kept law enforcement busy. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<
Oregon Coast closed to harvesting of 4 types of shellfish in ‘unprecedented’ move after widespread contamination
Oregon officials are barring all razor-clam, bay-clam and mussel harvesting along the state’s coast due to historically high levels of a potentially deadly toxin in local shellfish, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported. The ban affects commercial fisheries producing oysters, razor clams and bay clams, according to the ODFW. The toxin causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, the most common and severe form of shellfish poisoning. The food-borne illness can cause hospitalization and occasionally death. Symptoms typically appear 30 to 60 minutes after eating contaminated shellfish and include numbness of the mouth and lips, tingling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness and, in severe cases, shortness of breath or irregular heartbeat, according to the Oregon Health Authority. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:50
Garibaldi – Home of World-Class Dungeness Crab Thanks to Experienced, Professional Commercial Fishing Fleet
Did you know that Garibaldi, Oregon produces some of the best Dungeness crab? This small-town port has taken advantage of its close proximity to the ocean by employing new techniques and using smaller boats to earn the honor of having the lowest Dungeness crab dead loss of any port, anywhere. Experts from around the world have come to Garibaldi to see how they manage it. Dead loss is the almost inevitable result of fishing; some crabs tend to die on the boat before getting to port. Reducing this is good for the fishery and good for the boat. photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:43
Dungeness crab: The West Coast’s forever fishery
Fourth-generation fisherman Kelsey Cutting has photos of boats prominently displayed in his Long Beach, Wash., dining room. On one side is his grandfather’s old trawler, the Lulu 2, a 35-foot wooden double ender. “The other side I have a picture of my boat, the Jeannie Irene, which is a 50-foot fiberglass boat, and it’s 10 years old. It’s a big difference,” Cutting said. The fishing fleet on the West Coast has gotten bigger and more modern, and the portion of boats that can operate in relatively poor weather has increased, he said. The job remains dangerous, though, and storms can be unforgiving. But there can be a handsome payoff at the docks, especially for Dungeness crab. The West Coast’s top fishery surpassed $200 million in value in Washington, Oregon and California in 2022-23. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 15:46
Commercial crabbing start pushed into 2024
Dungeness crab in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia are still only inching their way toward the proportion of meat required before commercial harvest is allowed, delaying the season again. Fishery managers decided on Dec. 18 to push out the season start to Dec. 31, Jan. 15 or Feb. 1. They will meet Dec. 20 to settle on which date crabbers will be allowed to drop their pots, with deliveries back to port typically occurring around 72 hours later. Samples gathered Dec. 17 found south Pacific County crab had 20.7% recoverable meat, up from 19.4% meat on Nov. 28. Clatsop County crab tested at 22.9%, just shy of the mandatory minimum meat recovery criteria of 23% north of Cascade Head, and up from 21.1% on Nov. 29. more, >>click to read<< 14:30
Dec. 16 set for commercial Dungeness crab season opening
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery opens Dec. 16 from Cape Foulweather, just south of Depoe Bay, to the California border, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Pre-season testing shows that crabs remain too low in meat yield to open commercial fishing from Cape Foulweather to the Washington border. The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will help determine if this area can open Dec. 31 or is further delayed. Oregon, California and Washington coordinate Dungeness crab quality testing and the commercial season opening dates. A history of Oregon’s commercial crab landings is available online. more, >>click to read<< 06:37
Oregon: Delayed Commercial Dungeness crab season
Pre-season testing shows Dungeness crabs are too low in meat yield in some ocean areas, delaying Oregon’s commercial season until at least Dec. 16, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Targeted to open Dec. 1, Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness crab season can be delayed so consumers get a high-quality product and crabs are not wasted. The commercial bay crab fishery (currently open) closes at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 1 in conjunction with the delayed ocean commercial season. It will reopen when the ocean commercial season does so. The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will occur in the coming weeks. Results help determine if the season opens Dec. 16 or is further delayed or split into areas with different opening dates. >>click to read<< 21:38
Struggling salmon fishermen getting federal help, but it may be too late
Earlier this month, two years after a request by Oregon’s governor, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a Chinook fishery disaster for 2018, 2019 and 2020, years when local salmon populations plummeted. Fishing regulators blame the drop on poor habitat conditions and climate change near the California-Oregon border, where thousands of Chinook migrate from the ocean up rivers and streams to spawn. The disaster declaration releases financial assistance for fishermen and possibly for other businesses, along with funding to help restore the fishery and protect future Chinook runs, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation said in a statement. “The powers that be move pretty slowly when it comes to this stuff,” said Ray Monroe, a Pacific City dory fisherman. >>click to read<< 12:00
USDA will invest $52 million to help fishing industry on the West Coast
The struggling fisheries industry on the West Coast is getting a much-needed financial boost from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will buy $52 million worth of Pacific groundfish for its food assistance programs. The money is the USDA’s third and biggest investment in the fish in as many years. In 2021, the USDA purchased $16 million of groundfish, specifically rockfish, pink shrimp and whiting or hake, a fish that’s popular in Eastern Europe. It increased that to up to just over $30 million the following year. This year’s $52 million surpasses the $50 million in wholesale sales for those fish last year, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks fisheries in Oregon. >click to read< 09:50
Oregon fishing season called off due to dwindling salmon populations
An extremely low “abundance” of California Chinook salmon stocks and projected low spawning escapements has led to the cancellation of the upcoming commercial and recreational salmon fishing season along most of the Oregon coast. Thursday’s announcement came in two parts from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, with both actions canceling fishing seasons between March 15 and May 15, 2023. According to Fish and Wildlife, the action applies to all commercial ocean troll salmon fishery seasons from Cape Falcon to the Oregon-California Border. Meanwhile, recreational salmon fishing has been canceled in ocean waters between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain off the Oregon coast. >click to read< 08:45
Panel discusses impact of offshore wind on West Coast fisheries
The Biden administration has called for deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy to combat climate change by 2030. Depending on where the turbines are placed, they could displace highly productive fishing grounds that account for billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in Oregon, Washington and California. Projects must be planned carefully using the best available science to mitigate potential damage, according to a panel of experts who spoke March 1 at the Northwest Offshore Wind Conference in downtown Portland. >click to read< 11:52
Commercial Dungeness crab season opens January 15
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday that the commercial Dungeness crab fishery season opens from Cape Falcon to Cape Arago January 15. The season opens February 1 from Cape Falcon north to Washington State; in accordance with the Tri-State Protocol. ODFW says that the crabs are ready for harvest after passing all administered tests. Crab meat fill now meets criteria in all areas of Oregon, and biotoxins are below alert levels in all crab tested from Cape Arago north. However, domoic acid testing of crab will continue from Cape Arago south to the California border as test results Thursday showed elevated levels of domoic acid in the area. >click to read< For more information about crabbing season you can visit ODFW’s website. 09:21
Oregon Crabbers demand opening of season
Small-vessel crabbers demand that state regulators commence Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery, condemning the thrice-delayed season as a scheme by big operators to depress dock prices and control the $90 million market. A Jan. 3 letter by the “consortium” of crab fishers addressed to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife blasted the “deeply misguided and extraordinarily harmful” decision by the agency last month to postpone the opening until at least Sunday, Jan. 15, due to concerns over meat quality and presence of domoic acid in some of Oregon’s 12 crab-fishing zones. “This group has strong incentives to prioritize a fast, high-volume harvest and reaps an enormous benefit from reduced competition that results from a delayed start,” the letter charged, explaining how prices plummet 50-75 percent following the primary holiday markets. >click to read< 16:42
Dungies beyond crabbers’ grasp
The delay in starting the crab season, now stretching into its first month,,, “People have no idea how much money Dungeness crab bring into Newport,” said Casey Cooper, a third-generation fisherman who was rigging the steel-hulled Leslie Lee with crab pots at Newport’s International Terminal. “From car dealers to grocery stores, everybody’s waiting for this huge annual infusion of cash.” Businessman Dean Fleck of England Marine supplies the crab fleet with rope, buoys, crab pots and other fishing gear. He said the delay is being felt up and down the waterfront, where hundreds of workers from deckhands to processors are idled. He claimed each dollar generated by crab fishing is “brand new” to the local economy, with the potential to rebound seven times. >click to read< 15:41
CDFW opens commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery statewide Dec. 31, Oregon remains closed until at least Jan. 15,
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will open the commercial Dungeness crab fishery statewide on Dec. 31, 2022. Fishing Zones 3-6 (all areas south of the Sonoma/Mendocino county Line) will open under a 50 percent trap reduction on Dec. 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., with a 64-hour gear setting period to begin on Dec. 28, 2022 at 8:01 a.m. >click to read<
Oregon Season to remain closed until mid January – The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season remains closed until at least Jan. 15, 2023, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). 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 (guts). >click to read< 09:30
Latest round of Dungeness crab testing to conclude Tuesday
The second round of domoic acid and meat-quality testing for Dungeness crabs in Oregon, Washington and California is scheduled to conclude Tuesday as the commercial crabbing industry waits for an opening date. The results, which Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say are likely to be published by Wednesday, will determine if the coast’s commercial Dungeness crab season will open, or if the industry can expect more delays. >click to read< 09:58
Oregon: Ocean commercial Dungeness crab season delayed
The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season opener is delayed until at least Dec. 16 for the entire Oregon coast. Pre-season testing shows crabs are too low in meat yield in some areas. Elevated domoic acid also was detected in some crab viscera (guts). Targeted to open Dec. 1, Oregon’s ocean commercial Dungeness crab season can be delayed so consumers get a high-quality product and crabs are not wasted. The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will occur in the coming weeks. Results help determine if the season opens Dec. 16 or is further delayed or split into areas with different opening dates. >click to read< 11:41
ODFW public meeting highlights whale entanglement
Caren Braby, Marine Resources Program Manager for ODFW says the annual meeting covers vast topics relevant to the crabbing fleet, but it’s now become more urgent to focus the conversation on entanglements. “There have been an increased level of entanglements in crab gear over about the last seven years.” And as crabbers prepare for the upcoming Dungeness Crab season open on December 1, ODFW is gathering input from crabbers on just how well efforts are going to decide if a change in approach is needed. >click to read< 14:08
Federal Funding for Killing Sea Lions Might Help Cowlitz River Salmon
Though the actions taken to secure $892,000 in federal funding for the protection of Columbia River system salmon took place thousands of miles from Lewis County, the process could have positive impacts for fishermen of the Upper Cowlitz River and the Columbia basin as a whole. As a result of a joint effort between U.S. Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon, the appropriations bill passed by congress will include funds to continue the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) efforts to kill sea lions on the Columbia River, protecting salmon and steelhead. Sea lion extermination has been shown to be effective in protecting fish. >click to read< 11:35
Coast Guard help Oregon State Police measure illegally small Dungeness crab; skipper cited
State troopers cited the skipper of a crab boat for taking undersized Dungeness crabs after a biologist noticed a large number of small crabs at a seafood processing plant on Oregon’s northwest coast. Oregon State Police said the investigation started December 6. That’s when an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist sampling commercially caught Dungeness crab at a seafood processing plant in Warrenton noticed numerous undersized crabs from one boat. >click to read< 06:12
Oregon: Crab season to begin December 1st without delay for first time in six years
For the first time in six years, Oregon’s commercial crab season is set to begin without delay following low domoic acid and high meat yield indicated by tests conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife earlier in the month. Commercial crab vessels and their crews can begin setting their gear as soon as this Sunday, Nov. 28, for the pre-soak period, after which they’ll be able to pull in their first hauls of the season on Dec. 1, assuming weather holds clear and a price arrangement between the fishing fleet and Oregon seafood processors is reached. >click to read< 10:05
Oregon: Dungeness crab season starts Dec.1!
It’s the first time in seven years that the season has not been delayed by low meat yields, high levels of domoic acid, or both.,, But the scheduled opening has been delayed in recent years. In some years, parts of the coast have remained closed into late January. This year, commercial crab vessels can set gear Nov. 28, and begin pulling pots on Dec. 1. >click to read< 07:37
Oregon: State regulators rushing to catch up on market squid fishery
If Joe Mulkey could fish for market squid year-round, he would. The emerging Oregon fishery ticks a lot of boxes for the commercial fisherman from Reedsport: the use of seine gear and electronics, and, of course, the recent profitability. In the past five years, the market squid fishery has moved from almost nonexistent to booming. Now boats that would normally fish for squid in California’s Monterey Bay have headed north and Oregon fishermen are seeing new opportunities in local waters, hunting the small, short-lived animals. >click to read< 18:55
It’s good to see crab season finally underway
The people who make up the commercial crabbing fleet work in some of the worst weather Mother Nature can throw at them. And this year is proving to be no different. The area is experiencing some pretty heavy rainfall, and during the first part of this week, there was also a high wind warning and a high surf advisory. Crabbing is generally a lucrative fishery, but they certainly earn their pay. We offer prayers for a safe and bountiful harvest for all of them. Speaking of the fishing industry,,, >click to read< 07:14
Researchers find new toxin hot spot
As high levels of domoic acid once again delay the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Washington state and along Oregon’s North Coast, researchers say they have zeroed in on a like cause of marine toxin issues farther south. They recently identified a new highly toxic hot spot between California’s Cape Mendocino, several hundred miles north of San Francisco, and Oregon’s Cape Blanco, north of Port Orford, according to a study published this month. >click to read< 16:04
Delay in Dungeness crab season the latest in long string of delayed seasons
The Oregon Dungeness crab season has been delayed two weeks with a start date now set for December 16. It’s the latest in a long string of delayed seasons. The season start date is supposed to be December 1, but for six consecutive seasons it’s been delayed. “It’s a moving goalpost all the time with the Dungeness crab fishery and yeah, I guess were used to waiting here because the state makes the decision when we get to open the season,” says Nick Edwards, owner of F/V Carter Jon. >video, lick to read< 10:36
Crab industry, Oregon continue plans to avoid whale entanglement
New regulations for commercial Dungeness crab fishermen in Oregon aim to get boats on the water earlier in the season and reduce the amount of gear to avoid tangling with endangered whales. “Our fleet is made up of 400 individual businesspeople who each bring a different perspective to the issue,” said Hugh Link, the executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. “For over three years, they have been given the opportunity to weigh in on how best to mitigate the whale entanglement risk,” he continued. “But it is an ongoing process. These upcoming meetings are the next important step and we hope they take the opportunity to have their voices heard.”
