Oregon Dungeness crab fishermen and seafood processor representatives participating in state-supervised crab price negotiations have agreed on an opening price of $3.10 per pound for the 2014-2015 Dungeness crab season along the Oregon coast, set to begin at the start of December. The agreement has been reviewed and approved by Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba. The state-supervised negotiations, which involved representatives from five seafood processors and five seafood marketing associations from Brookings to Astoria, came to a successful conclusion Monday evening at a meeting in Newport. Pre-season “meat fill” tests used by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure that quality and condition standards for the crab are met suggest that the quality of the crab this year will be excellent. The projected quality of the crab helped drive the highest price ever offered by Dungeness crab processors to start the season. The $3.10 per pound price represents a 17 percent increase over last year’s starting price. Crabbers will begin placing their pots on Friday, November 28th in preparation for the December 1 opening. Dungeness crab is the most valuable commercial fishery on the Oregon coast. Last season’s harvest produced landings of 14.4 million pounds and an ‘ex-vessel’ value of $50 million dollars. Early indications suggest the harvest for Oregon’s crab industry, which will allow consumers nationwide to enjoy the official “State Crustacean”, will be on par with last year.
