Fourth-generation fisherman Kelsey Cutting has photos of boats prominently displayed in his Long Beach, Wash., dining room.

On one side is his grandfather’s old trawler, the Lulu 2, a 35-foot wooden double ender.

“The other side I have a picture of my boat, the Jeannie Irene, which is a 50-foot fiberglass boat, and it’s 10 years old. It’s a big difference,” Cutting said.

The fishing fleet on the West Coast has gotten bigger and more modern, and the portion of boats that can operate in relatively poor weather has increased, he said.

The job remains dangerous, though, and storms can be unforgiving.

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But there can be a handsome payoff at the docks, especially for Dungeness crab. The West Coast’s top fishery surpassed $200 million in value in Washington, Oregon and California in 2022-23.

Coastal Dungeness crab landings have been the biggest ever, but despite the huge hauls, the fishery is viewed as sustainable. Scientists believe the species’ population is stable or increasing.

Still, crabbers worry about threats to their industry, including protected animals becoming tangled in crab pot lines, offshore energy proposals and wild price swings.

Huge landings

The Dungeness crab harvest last season was massive, with Oregon having its second best season at 31.6 million pounds and Washington having its largest catch ever at 28.7 million pounds.

The landings were valued at $85 million in Oregon for the official state crustacean and $64.6 million in Washington.

The species is the dominant coastal fishery in those states.

“It is extremely important. It generates some of the largest and most consistent revenues for the fisheries that are in our area,” said Kevin Decker, Washington Sea Grant coastal economist.

In 2022-23, California landings were 21.1 million pounds worth $54.4 million.

“It’s not record-breaking, but it’s pretty high. An average season is about 10 million pounds,” said Christy Juhasz, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife crab fisheries biologist.

Market squid and Dungeness crab typically vie for the top fishery in California.

A sustainable catch

Despite huge landings, the fishery, which stretches north to Canada and Alaska, is robust, experts said.

“When it comes to sustainability, crab fisheries are kind of unique,” said Matthew George, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s coastal shellfish manager.

“There hasn’t been a real concern with us fishing through the resource,” he added.

That’s critical as demand for crab meat has increased while other fisheries have experienced population declines.

Experts said large harvests are thanks to factors including favorable ocean conditions for crustaceans, the decline of salmon that prey on crab larvae, and larger boats and mechanical advances.

There are also variations in catch each year — this season probably won’t match 2022-23, but sources said it looked strong and so did the price. The average for Oregon landings as of mid-January was $3.48 per pound.

Regulations and rules

The three West Coast states coordinate crab rules established a century ago based on size, sex and season to protect the Dungeness fishery.

Effort controls to maintain catch levels, such as the number of pots a boat can use and how many vessels participate, have taken effect in recent decades.

The species’ spawning season is avoided, and only males measuring 6.25 inches across are kept. To reach that size generally takes three to four years, said Kelly Corbett, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife commercial crab project leader.

Most legal Dungeness crabs weigh about 2 pounds, and roughly 25% of that is meat.

Females and small younger males are thrown back.

A University of Washington and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study from 2020 estimated the harvest rate of legal crab at as much as 98%, depending on the year.

Over the study’s last two decades, the rate averaged 79%.

Ocean conditions impact crab populations more than fishing practices, scientists said.

Stressful delays

Crab season often opens in December, but delays can occur with low quality of meat, algae blooms or other factors. Those regulations are designed to protect the product.

Lately, there have been delayed and staggered starts to the season, depending on the region.

This season, openings varied from Dec. 16 on the southern Oregon coast to Feb. 1 in northern Oregon and Washington. January storms off Oregon have hampered crabbing, though.

The first few weeks of the season are a mad rush, and delays compress timelines and cause stress.

However, late starts haven’t slowed the boats — Oregon and Washington’s 2022-23 season opened late, too.

Crab season’s greetings

West Coast fishers north of San Francisco generally target multiple species but Dungeness crab is vital.

The season is eagerly awaited for several reasons.

“All the locals know the first couple months of the season are the best. The meat tastes better and you get a lot more for the money,” said Tony Bixler, president of Local Ocean, a restaurant and fish market in Newport, Ore.

Crab season also arrives during a lull in the coast’s tourism economy, providing a boost.

Seasonal employees often crab during winter and the influx of wages works its way through the economy to other businesses.

Dungeness crab also buoys the coast economy in summer when the delicacy is served to tourists at restaurants.

Price fluctuations

In 2021-22, a limited supply caused crab prices to surge. Oregon had a record high $5.33 per pound, pushing the state’s fishery to $91.5 million.

With inflation tightening budgets, seafood became a luxury, said Cutting, a Washington crabbing advisory board member who also fishes off Oregon.

When 2022-23’s harvest nearly doubled, prices at Oregon docks dropped to $2.69.

“It was brutal,” said fisherman Patrick Dean of Beaver, Ore.

Cutting hoped prices would increase to cover the rising cost of gear, insurance and diesel fuel. “Your overhead, it’s insane how much it costs to participate,” he added.

Many fishers sell to seafood plants in coastal bays — and much of the Dungeness crab catch is exported live to Asia.

But some crabbers are trying unusual tactics to secure better prices.

Cutting out the middleman

After 28 years with tire dealer Les Schwab, Dean wanted to step into his second career as a fisherman on the right foot.

“Everybody names their boat after a girl, so I wanted to name it after four. If there’s something to that superstition, I’m going all in,” Dean said.

The Ashtella Rhelynn — his granddaughters’ names combined — fishes out of Newport, Ore.

Dean’s company is named Seal Rock Seafood, and to help it grow, the 55-year-old will process thousands of pounds of crab through rented space at the Central Coast Food Web in Newport.

He also built a refrigerated trailer to haul his catch to bigger cities and sell directly to restaurants and other customers.

“That allows little operators like me to be able to compete and bring an income in,” Dean said.

Processing makes up about 50% of the profits, Dean estimated — “ice and double the price,” he quipped.

“I’m cutting out the middleman,” Dean said.

Dean is in his third year as a fisherman and second as a boat owner.

Wildlife entanglements

Crabbers face other obstacles besides price fluctuations — including when sea animals become entangled in the pots.

To ward off litigation and reduce wildlife impacts, states are working to track and mitigate whale and turtle entanglements with fishing gear such as lines that run between the pots and marker buoys.

Those animals have federal protection.

Most of the identifiable gear in entanglements comes from commercial crabbers. The origin of about 50% of the lines and gear is unclear.

States are developing a coordinated line marking plan and introducing crab pot limits when whales are offshore.

California cuts its number of crab pots by 50% at the season’s start.

Oregon and Washington have reduced limits beginning in May as whales move north.

“Every vertical line is more increased risk. We are coming off a calendar year where we had a lot of entanglements,” said Juhasz. California reductions were a compromise to keep crabbing open.

The whale population is increasing. Cutting said he sees more starving whales off the southern Washington coastline than entanglements. Ship strikes also injure and kill whales.

Others in the fishing industry are concerned about offshore wind and wave energy projects shutting down productive waters.

Tribal sharing

Dungeness crab is a traditional food for many Native Americans.

Washington has pot limits of about 20% to start this season so the state can meet its sharing obligations with coastal treaty tribes, George said.

Smaller tribal fleets also get a head start on the season.

Tribal crabbers brought in 4.6 million pounds of crab in 2022-23, compared to 24.1 million pounds from other crabbers.

Optimistic outlook

Dungeness crab, named for a coastal village in Washington, has been harvested off the West Coast since San Francisco fishermen began catching the crustaceans in 1848.

Experts are optimistic the resilient species will remain for centuries.

“Dungeness will be around hopefully forever,” said Crystal Adams, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission executive director.

“As long as we can keep our oceans open, we’ll be able to fish it,” she added.