(Olympia, WA) Washington’s commercial Dungeness crab season will open Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Ore., including the Columbia River and Willapa Bay. An opening date is still pending for the rest of the state’s Pacific Coast.
Dungeness crabs support Washington’s most valuable commercial fishery. 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.
The Washington, Oregon, and California fish and wildlife departments decide season openers each year as part of a tri-state agreement to cooperatively manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Opening dates are based on test fishing to determine crab condition. Refer to psmfc.org/crab for full test fishing results.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers sample crab from October to January each year in Westport and Long Beach. 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.
“Meat recovery is closely tied to the crabs’ molting cycle,” said WDFW Coastal Shellfish Manager Matthew George. “In recent years, crabs along Washington’s coast have been molting later, resulting in delayed season openings. The crab we sampled in Westport reached 23% meat recovery in mid-December, while the Long Beach crab did not meet that threshold until early January.”
WDFW is investigating whether changes in molt timing are linked to broader climate trends. 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. Other policy updates include addressing the risk of marine life entanglement in crabbing gear, focusing on humpback and blue whales and leatherback sea turtles. WDFW is developing a conservation plan and seeking an Incidental Take Permit under the federal Endangered Species Act.
WDFW is in discussions with co-manager tribes to determine a season opening date from Klipsan Beach north to the U.S.-Canada border. Each year, WDFW works with tribal co-managers to develop harvest management plans to achieve resource sharing goals. These agreements include provisions such as earlier seasons for the smaller tribal fleets and special management areas closed to state fishers.
The Quinault Indian Nation’s (QIN) Dungeness crab season opened Dec. 29.QIN’s season typically begins 45-49 days before the state’s, depending on crab abundance. In addition, per WDFW’s harvest management agreement with the Quileute Tribe, the area north of Destruction Island does not open to state crabbers before Jan. 15.
WDFW reminds state crabbers to follow all current regulations, including those related to line marking, buoy registration, and electronic monitoring, and to avoid setting gear in towboat lanes.
Refer to WDFW’s website for more information about the coastal commercial Dungeness crab fishery and recreational crab fishing. Refer to our 2024-25 Washington Coastal Dungeness Crab Fishery Newsletter for more information on the upcoming season and a recap of last season.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.
