Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission
Hugh Link, the Executive Director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission was our speaker for our class at Newport and I had mentioned in the earlier post on January 17 about his first hand account of the events of the capsized crab boat just the evening before.
He rolled out the story to us with step by step actions of the Coast Guard and other vessels looking for the ship at sea with firemen and volunteers combing the the shoreline and jetty areas for any trace. As precious time passed to hours, it was believed by many that the search had become a recovery mission rather than the attempt to rescue a live crew. The cold seas of the Oregon Coast are known for taking life quickly when disaster hits, but the searchers did not give up on their quest. Fortunately for the three men on the Pacific Miner, the events of the day happened to be in their favor. Rather than sink completely, the vessel capsized and rolled toward the jetty where the water is shallower. The three men were trapped in the engine room of the boat where they had access to the heat off the engine during the first hours where hypothermia was a big concern, and by the time they were rescued they were hugging the last remaining dregs of warmth from the engine. The firemen that spotted and heard life from within the ship called for reinforcements quickly and got the townsfolk coming to area to cut the ship up with their own shop tools.
Hugh’s recount set the stage for his discussion about the local economy and that Dungeness Crab is one of the main drivers of the economy in the Newport area and many ports up and down the Oregon Coast.
Dungeness Crab is a fickle business. The permits are issued and season opens December 1st if all the conditions are right. Only male crabs 6 1/4 inches and larger are allowed to be harvested, at this size they are at least four years old. Females carry from hundreds of thousands to 2.5 million eggs each year. The crabs are tested rigorously to see if they are ‘filled out’ meaning the meat of the crabs are at the absolute best for the end customers, also the shell needs to be hard. Crabs molt to shuck off the too small shell to grow the next size larger and the shells need to harden before the season can begin. Demoic Acid is a concern and is tested for in crabs and clams all along the coast, Demoic Acid occurs at the time of algae blooms and is a natural toxin that the crabs ingest. The buildup of Demoic Acid can not be killed with freezing or cooking and can be fatal for humans. And then there is the ocean, the storms and tides at work. Some seasons do not start until January 15th but most start before the end of December.
This year, the season started on December 31st. The first two weeks of the season are the most bountiful and the most fished. So far this year, 8 million pounds of Dungeness Crab has been harvested. The biggest vessels are bringing in the largest amounts of catch each day early in the season before moving on to other ports or to fish other fisheries. The smaller boats bring in catch continually throughout the season after the large crabbers have left the area.
The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission does not only conduct the business of dealing with the crab fishery but extends to partnering with the other fisheries as well as tourism and volunteerism.
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