Posted on 07/15/2005 9:42:07 AM PDT by nickcarraway
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — With four weeks left in the season, Oregon fishermen have brought in 33.3 million pounds of Dungeness crab, breaking last season's record harvest by about 10 million pounds.
"It's off the charts," said Nick Furman, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
Furman said the catch will put about $50 million into the pockets of Oregon's commercial fishermen. Spinoffs from harvesting, processing, marketing and other activities could mean $150 million in economic benefits for Oregon, he said.
Last season, fishermen netted 23.7 million pounds, breaking a record which had stood for 24 years. To have two big seasons in a row is unusual — large harvests are typically followed by much smaller harvests.
"The year before was unprecedented, and to have this on top of that is just incredible," said Dean Fleck, a manager with Newport's Englund Marine Supply, which sells commercial fishing gear.
Mitch Vance, head of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's shellfish program, told the Statesman Journal newspaper that no one knows why Oregon's had two straight boom years. The process is "very dynamic and relatively unknown," he said.
Sometimes big harvests are a bane to fisherman because they bring down prices. But there have been few complaints in the industry this season because the harvest is so bountiful.
"We're under the gun to process as much crab as possible," said Scott Adams, plant manager at the Hallmark Fisheries seafood processing plant in Charleston.
Some 375 commercial fishing permit holders take part in the Dungeness crab harvest, which starts in December and closes in mid-August.
Prices paid to crab fishermen start low then rise as the season goes on. This season, prices started at $1.45 per pound and currently are in the range of $2 to $2.25 per pound. In past years, the price has been as high as $3.25 per pound.
Yeah man, global warming, the death of the oceans and all that! We're doomed, I tell ya ... DOOOOOOOMED! ;)
Where's the meat in those things?
The claws look a tad wimpy.
http://www.dungeness.com/crab/
They're loaded with meat, but its in the upper-legs/hips, if you can call it that.
In the back (body), same as a Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab.
But start having a couple of down years, and Mitch will know all the answers....
"Yes. Clearly global warming is to blame. If we don't ban cars, the crabs will take over."
LOL! Thanks for a good belly laugh. :)
Crab. It's what's for dinner!
ooooooooooh ... that sounds awesome!
To compare the Dungeness Crab to the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab in any other fashion than size, the Dungeness is larger, is silly.
I was raised in Kansas and was first exposed to the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab in Baltimore, Maryland when I was fifteen. It took some time to achieve the art of "picking" the steamed crabs but after that it was always a treat.
Several years later while on a business trip to the West Coast I discovered the Dungeness Crab. I thought I had died and gone to steamed crab heaven. The Dungeness Crab was enormous compared to what I was used to. That was until I tasted the steamed Dungeness Crab. If the proof is indeed in the eating then it was a wasted meal. When your taste is set for steamed Crab the Dungeness Crab was about as tasteless as anything I've ever encountered.
I am happy for the successful crab harvest but I assure you I would not interested if Dungeness Crab retailed for $1.75 a pound but I would reluctantly pay $18.00 for a pound of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab lump crab meat.
I had crabs once when I was the drummer in the rock band "Rampage." Does that count?
Yes. Damn shame what environmental terrorism by the eeeeeevil GOP has done to the fishing industry.
I hope this harvest keeps up. We thought the Chesapeake Bay would never run out of oysters or blue crabs. Oysters are nearly gone and crabs are way down.
Good grief .. I thought the oceans were dying!!
That is what I was thinking. We had record blue crab catches on the Texas coast and now you don't even see the 8" to 10" crabs I caught as a kid. A "large" crab now is 6"...
Well, if this was a bad news story about fishing, global warming would have been the focal point of the story.
That was a different species.
Sorta like calling a Liberal Rat the same thing as a conservative.
There are a few good restaurants on the Oregon Coast which make this wonderful/tasty delight.
Hmmm. May attempt to whip up a little something along those lines myself ... English muffin, spinach (or maybe arugula to make it "my" creation), crab, a little more crab spilling off the muffin, egg, hollandaise ... missing anything? Of course, these delights are ALWAYS better when served TO you. :)
Nearly 62 million salmon so far. Perhaps you should not spread such uninformed rumors.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.