First Day of Crab Season

Crab fishermen are bringing their pots to port along the Oregon Coast starting this morning, as a delayed crab season finally gets underway. Until now, the fresh crab you could buy at grocery stores (if you could afford it) was from California. Now, renowned Dungeness crab – a uniquely Oregon delicacy – will soon be available through the holidays.

It’ll cost a pretty penny. Negotiations between fishermen and fish buyers last week arrived at $2.65 a pound to start the season. The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission says that’s 35 cents more than last year, and the highest opening price in more than a decade. And, tack on several dollars per pound by the time it reaches your market.

Last year, Brookings caught the most crab of any Oregon port – bringing in more than 5 million pounds.