Crab Meat on Oregon Coast At Its Best This Time of Year

Published 02/01/2011

(Newport, Oregon) – If you're looking to get some awesome crab meat this time of year: you're in luck. However, you may not want to count on getting a lot of it (above: Nehalem Bay, another crabbing hotspot).

Crabmeat on the Oregon coast is at its fullest right about now because the crustaceans have gone through their molting process during the fall months and have now filled out their new shells. Every year, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) tests the crabs late in the year, and again have found they've filled out as usual.

“The tests on the crab to get the pickout rate were satisfactory this year,” said Brandon Ford, with the Newport office of the ODFW. “The crab are filled out just where they should be, with about a quarter of the live crab’s weight being meat.”

This good quality in meat usually lasts into early spring.

Crabbing in estuaries and bays is open year round, but the season for ocean crabbing started December 1.

“Bay crabbing varies, with Newport and Tillamook reporting only fair catches and Brookings and Coos Bay reporting limits and near limits in the bays,” Ford said. Another hotspot for crabbing has been the lower Columbia, near Astoria.

Alsea Bay

So far, surveys of public crabbing have indicated it’s been fair in Yaquina Bay and nearby Alsea Bay.

The reason some bays fare better than others is because of the influx of fresh water. Both Yaquina and Alsea bays have a lot of fresh water coming. Netarts Bay, which has wildly fluctuated in crabbing numbers in the past, doesn’t have much of an influx.

Ford said last year’s crab numbers for commercial fishermen were excellent, perhaps the third or fourth best on record. “That’s a pretty good indication just how many crab are out there,” he said.

Newport's Yaquina Bay

The good news is that there haven’t been any seriously adverse conditions to keep people away from crabbing, like last year’s uncomfortable cold spells on the coast. In fact, a run of calm, even warm conditions, has helped all kinds of tourism on the coast.

Commercial crabbing alone added nearly $90 million to the coastal economy last year, according to the Newport Chamber.

Ford said you may have better luck out in the ocean, though conditions there can be a bit rough and foreboding this year. Ocean crabbing is more adventurous than bay crabbing, but those hardy souls can be greatly rewarded by heading out.

Bay crabbing still has its high points, however. 

"But when you get one or two crab it’s still fun," Ford said.

Astoria

Ford suggests crabbing on an incoming tide, as this carries with it more salt water. Crabs often come into a bay during such high salinity tides, then retreat to the ocean on outgoing tides because freshwater from incoming rivers tends to chase them away.

Newport alone has dozens of crabbing spots along the enormous Yaquina Bay, where crabbing is allowed year round. It's also known as the "Dungeness Crab Capitol of the World," partially because the area’s fishing fleet has broken many records for crab hauls in recent years.

Ford stressed that the bay is still the best place to find the Dungeness crab, especially for those new to the sport. He pointed to one special spot in South Beach where crabbing is prime – the long dock that stretches a couple hundred feet out into the bay.

For the adventurer, however, there are about ten charter boat services running out of Yaquina Bay, many of which provide deep-sea fishing and crabbing opportunities. Many charter businesses run out of the Astoria area, Tillamook Bay and Depoe Bay, while plenty of crabbing opportunities (and places to rent crab rings) are available at Nehalem Bay, Seaside and Waldport.

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

LATEST OREGON COAST NEWS STORIES

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net