December 12, 2018 — The commercial Dungeness crab fishery along the US West Coast has been delayed until at least Dec. 30 due to low meat yields, Washington state officials said in a press release.
According to the rules of a tri-state process that governs commercial Dungeness fishing in Washington, Oregon and northern California, harvesting for the species will be delayed as portions of the fishery in each state do not meet the minimum meat yield requirements to make harvesting commercially viable.
According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the tri-state rules require that a delay is required if, after two rounds of testing, crabs don’t yield enough meat — the standard is 23% yields for crabs caught north of Cascade Head, Oregon, and 25% for crabs caught south of it — then a delay is required.