Oregon Opens Two Southern Ports for Dungeness Crab Fishing
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Seafood News] by Susan Chambers - December 12, 2016
Oregon state agencies released information late Friday that the southernmost part of the state would open for Dungeness crab at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18. A 73-hour pre-soak period will begin at 8 a.m. on Dec. 15. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Agriculture set a line at Cape Blanco, a few miles north of Port Orford. The open area includes the area from Cape Blanco to the California border.
As is usual with such staggered openings, the ODF&W imposes a 30 day waiting period if boats decide to fish that area from other ports. So if boats from up north fish in this area, and then other areas open further north, they have to wait until 30 days after the opening to fish in the new areas. For vessels that normally fish in the southern area, this is not a factor as they are on their home fishing grounds.
The rest of the state remains closed to commercial crabbing pending further tests for the domoic acid toxin.
Only two ports -- Brookings and Port Orford -- are in the area that will be open, so fishermen can deliver crab to either one of them. However, Port Orford is a small port with a shallow draft and limited offloading space; larger vessels would be unable to deliver there, fishermen said.
“We have consistently taken a very precautionary approach when opening our crab fisheries,” ODFW Marine Resource Program Manager Caren Braby, ODFW said in a press release. ...
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