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Oregon Dungeness crab

MSC status

Certified as sustainable on December 1st 2010.

Summary

Species:  Dungeness crab (Cancer magister)
Location:  Oregon, West Coast of the United States.
Fishing methods:  Crab pots
Vessels: 425 limited entry license holders.
Number of fisheries: 1

More about Dungeness crab

Adult Dungeness crab are found in coastal waters less the 40m deep on soft bottom sandy and muddy habitats. Despite a lack of physical barriers to movement adult crabs generally remain relatively sedentary and only migrate inshore to mate during spring and summer months.

More about the fishing methods

Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) are caught in circular steel traps commonly called 'pots'.  Dungeness crabs are kept alive in tanks until they are delivered to a shoreside processor.  The average boat fishes 300 to 500 pots, in depths ranging from 30 to 600 feet of water.

Individual Dungeness crab pots are set on open sand substrate and marked with a surface buoy. As they are not allowed to be linked in sequence (no longline configuration), there is little adverse physical effect of deployment and retrieval since pots are not dragged on the bottom or towed.

Commercial market

Dungeness crabs are primarily shipped live to world markets, with the United States being the major market.

Tonnage

Oregons harvest for the 2009-2010 season was 23,195,059 pounds (10,521 metric tons).

Actual eligibility date

1st December 2010

 

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