WASHINGTON STATE – The abundance of Dungeness crabs you’re used to seeing on ice in your local grocery stores in December is going to be delayed for at least a couple of weeks, maybe more.

Dan Ayres, Coastal Shellfish Manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says the commercial crab season’s opening day along the Pacific coast has been reset for December 15 to give the crabs a chance to fatten up.

“Yeah, our fishery will delay at least till December 15th to give us a chance to do some more testing, give those crab a chance to fill out before we make a decision. And you’ll recall that’s been something that’s happened the last couple of years. So it’s not unusual. It’s something fishermen support because they want good crab going to the market so, not terribly unusual.”

Delayed openers have been the norm rather than the exception over the last ten years or so. We asked Ayres to what he might attribute that.

“Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, it certainly has been the pattern with delayed openers. You know, sometimes it’s an indication of abundance, where there’s just more crab on the ground. And we have had a couple of really good crab seasons lately, and it just takes, it takes them longer to find the groceries they need to fill out. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, those crab are going to get caught one way or the other. It just really is a smart move to wait and let them get into good condition.”

The delay applies only to commercial crab fishing and only along the west coast. Sport crab fishing is open through December 31 in the Strait, Port Angeles Harbor and Discovery Bay.

(Fish and Wildlife photo)