THE
DUNGENESS CRAB
CRAB SPORT
SPORT FISHERY
FISHERY
THE DUNGENESS
IN
CALIFORNIA
IN WASHINGTON,
WASHINGTON, OREGON,
OREGON, AND
AND CALIFORNIA
11
Nelson
Nelson E.
E. Stewart
Stewart
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
A
sport fishery
fishery for
for Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab exists
exists in
in each
each state,
state.
A sport
For
the most
part,
For the
most part,
the fishery
fishery takes
takes place
the
place in
in bays
bays and
and estuaries
estuaries north
north of
of central
central California.
Cal ifornia.
The
The
magnitude of
of the
the sport
sport harvest
harvest is
is not
not well
known, but
but is
is minor
compared to
to the
the
magnitude
well known,
minor compared
commercial
commercial harvest.
harvest.
Presented here
here is
is aa summary
summary of
the existing
crab sport
Presented
of the
existing data
data on
on Dungeness
Dungeness crab
sport
Oregon, and
and California
California excluding
excluding Puget
Puget Sound,
Sound, Washington.
Washington.
fishing
in Washington,
fishing in
Washington, Oregon,
An
An extensive
extensive sport
sport fishery
fishery for
for crab
crab exists
exists in
in Puget
Puget Sound,
Sound, but
but because
because the
the fishery
fishery
is on
it is
is
on an
an inland
inland waterway
waterway within
within one
one state
state it
is not
not of
of primary
primary concern
concern to
to the
the
State/Federa1 Dungeness
Dungeness Crab
Crab Management
Management Program.
Progl'am.
State/Federal
SPORT
FISHING REGULATIONS
REGULATIONS
SPORT FISHING
A
summary of
of sport
sport fishing
fishing regulations
regulations for
for harvesting
harvesting Dungeness
Dungeness crabs
crabs in
in
A summary
Washington, Oregon,
Oregon, and
and California
California isis presented
presented ininTable'
Table' 1.
1.
Washington,
regulations have
have been
been included.
included.
regulations
Only
the basic
basic
Only the
Before
for crab
in aa particular
particular
Before sport
sport fishing
fishing for
crab in
locality,
locality, inquiry
inquiry should
should be
be made
made to
to the
the appropriate
appropriate state
state fisheries
fisheries department
department
and tidelands,
public access
access
for information
regarding location
location of
beaches and
for
information regarding
of public
public beaches
tidelands, public
and location
location of
of closed
closed areas.
areas.
to
fishing areas,
to fishing
areas, and
SPORT FISHING AREAS
Washington
nton
The
The
s~ort
fishery for
for Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab along
along the
the Washington
Washington coast
coast takes
takes place
place
sport fishery
in Willapa
some ocean
ocean beaches.
beaches.
primarily in
primarily
Willapa Bay,
Bay, Grays
Grays Harbor,
Harbor, and
and along
along some
The following
following
The
description
types of
in each
area was
prepared by
by H.C.
H.C. Tegelberg,
Tegel berg,
description of
of the
the types
of crabbing
crabbing done
done in
each area
was prepared
Washington Department
Department of
of Fisheries
Fisheries.
Washington
11
1/
Prepared
the State/Federal
Dungeness Crab
Crab Management
Management Program.
Program. June
June 1974.
1974.
Prepared for
for the
State/Federal Dungeness
Table
Table 1.
1.
Item
Item
Summary
of Sport
Sport Fishing
Fishing Regu'
Regu' -1:ions
foY' Harvesting
Harvesting Dungeness
Dungeness Crabs
Crabs
Summary of
'ions for
-
Reoulations
0r_p
___________________________________________'M2ULLakISIJ
Wash;
ngton
Washington
1Horni a
-uregoI1----------------~--Ca
California
_
Open
season
Open season
Entire
Entire year
year
Entire
in bays,
bays,
Entire year
year in
estuaries, ocean
ocean beaches,
beaches,
estuaries,
and tide
tide pool
pool areas,
areas.'
and
December
1 through
through
December 1
August
15 in
in Pacific
Pacific
August 15
Ocean.
Ocean
December
through
December 11 through
in Del
Del Norte,
Norte,
july
iuly 30
30 in
Humboldt, and
Humboldt,
and
Mendocino
Mendocino counties
counties.
The second
Tuesday
The
second Tuesday
in
in November
November through
through
June
30
in
all
other
June 30 in all other
counties
counties.
Type of
of license
license'required
Type
required
None
None
None
None
Ocean
sportfishing
Ocean sDortfish'ng
license.
license
bag limit
1imi t
Daily bag
Daily
6
6
12
12
Sex
restriction
Sex restriction
Males
Males only
only
Males
Males only
only
Crab shell
shell condition
condition
Crab
Hardshell
s only
only
Hardshells
Hardshells
Hardshells or
or
shell
shellss
Minimum
size (inches)
(inches),g;
Minimum size
Methods
of harvest
harvest
Methods of
6
6
11
10
10
.1!
55 3/4
3/4
None
None
soft~
soft-
Hardshells or
or softsoftHardshells
shells
shells
66 1/4
1/4
Crabs may
may be
be taken
taken by
by
Crabs
may be
be taken
taken by
by
Cabs may
Crabs
Crabs
Crabs may
may be
be taken
taken by
by
nets, baited
baited
hand,
baited hoop
hoop nets,
nets,
hand, dip
dip nets,
hand, baited
, hand,
nets, ring
ring nets,
nets, hand,
hand, dip
dip nets,
and crab
crab traps
traps. Traps
Traps
ano
lines with
with or
or without
?ntnout
lines
shellfish
pots, or
cr any,
any.
shellfish pots,
hooks,
rakes,
crab
rings,
must
must
be
be
provided
provided
with
with
hooks,
rakes,
crab
rings,
, hand
operated
instrument
hand operated instrument
and
pots. However,
two
However,
two circular
circular escape
escape
and crab
crab pots
that
not penetrate
penetrate
that will
will not
ports
of
the
use
by
an
individual
at
least
four
ports
of
at
least
four
the
use
by
an
individual
the
provided, it
it
the shell;
shell, provided,
of
more
than
three
crab
inches
inside
diameter.
inches inside diameter,
shall
be lawful
lawful to
to operate
operate of more than three crab
shall be
pots or
or aa
rings or
or crab
crab pots
one ring
ring net
net or
or two
two shellshell- rings
one
combination
thereof, is
is
fish
pots, but
but not
not aacorncomcombination thereof,
fish pots,
prohibited
bination
of both
both at
at any
anyone
bi ted.
bination of
one prohi
It is
is unlagful
unlawful to
to
time.
It
time
leave
any crab
crab pot
pot or
or ring
ring I
kave any
net
ret or
or other
other shellfish
shellfish gear
gear
unattended unless
unless it
it has
has the
the
unattended
name 'and
address of
of the
the owner
owner:
name
and address
on the
the marker
marker buoy.4
buoy~
on
I
'"
I
Table 1.
1.
Table
(Continued)
(Continued)
Regulations
ons
Oregon
CaT i f()6li a
Item
Item
Washington
Backing
crab in
in the
the field
field
Backing crab
Unlawful
to possess
possess in
in
Unlawful to
the field
field any
any Dungeness
Dungeness
the
crab
parts thereof
thereof
crab or
or parts
without
without retaining
retaining the
the
back shell.
shell.
back
Unlawful to
to back
back or
or
Unlawful
disfigure
crabs in
in any
disfigure crabs
any
manner prior
prior to
to landing.
landing.
manner
None
None
Mi sce11 aneOUS
Miscellaneous
Shellfish
pots must
be
Shellfish pots
must be
covered
covered by
by water
water at
at all
all
times.
times.
Undersized or
or female
female
Undersized
crabs
crabs must
must be
be returned
returned
manner
to water
in aa manner
to
water in
which will
will not
not cause
cause
which
injury.
injury.
Every person
person while
while
Every
taking
taking crustaceans
crustaceans
which
have aa minimum
which have
minimum
size limit
limit shall
shall carry
carry
size
which is
is
aa device
device which
capable of
of accurately
capable
accurately
measuring
the size
size of
of
measuring the
the crustaceans
crustaceans being
being
the
•
taken.
taken.
11
It
is unlawful
to take
take more
more than
than 24
24 legal
legal size
size male
male crabs
crabs in
in any
any seven
seVen consecutive
consecutive days.
days.
It is
unlawful to
1/
1// The
is measured
by the
the shortest
shortest distance
through the
the body
body of
of the
the crab
crab from
from edge
edge of
of shell
shell to
to
The minimum
minimum size
size is
measured by
distance through
edge
shell directly
directly in
in front
front of
of the
the tenth
tenth anterolateral
anterolateral spines.
spines.
edge of
of shell
I
W
Co
I
-4-
Wi
11 apa Bax.. Two
Two types
types of
of sport
sport crabbing
crabbi ng are
are known
known to
to occur
occur in
in Willapa
Wi 11 apa
Wi1lapa_y.
Bay:
wading
and pot
pot fishing.
fishing. Crabs
Crabs are
are taken
taken in
in eel
eel grass
grass areas
near
Bay:
wading and
areas near
Tokeland
Tokel and and
and Bay
Bay Center
Center by
by waders
waders in
in aa spring
spring and
and summer
summer fishery,
fishery, but
but
peak
utilization is
is estimated
estimated at
at less
less than
than 60
60 people.
people. Success
is
peak utilization
Success is
reportedly
well below
below what
what it
it was
was many
many years
years ago.
ago. Sport
pot fishing
fishing
reportedly well
Sport pot
is available
to small
small boats
boats operating
out of
of Bay
Bay Center,
Center, Nahcotta,
Nahcotta,
is
available to
operating out
and
which have
have boat
boat basins
basins or
or launching
launching facilities,
facilities. PotPotand Tokeland
Tokeland which
fishing
success is
is believed
believed to
to be
be good
good most
most years.
years. Peak
fishing success
Peak sport-pot
sport-pot
fishing probably
probably does
does not
not exceed
exceed 30
30 pots.
pots. AA small
small pot
pot and
and ring
ring net
net
fishing
fishery
occurs at
at the
the Tokeland
Tokeland and
and Nahcotta
Nahcotta docks.
docks.
fishery occurs
Grays
Harbor. There
reportedly has
has been
been aa light-wading
light-wading fishery
fishery for
for
yj1arbor.
There reportedly
crab
in northern
northern Grays
Grays Harbor
Harbor in
in past
past years.
yeai'S. However,
s appears
appears
crab in
However, thi
this
to be
be insignificant
insignificant at
at present.
present. There
is aa pot
pot fishery
fishery from
from small
small
to
There is
that operate
operate out
often in
in conjunction
conjunction with
with salmon
salmon
boats that
boats
out of
of Westport
Westport often
fishing trips.
trips. Most
Most popular
popular area
seems to
to be
be along
along the
the Grays
Grays Harbor
Harbor
fishing
area seems
south
jetty, but
but aa small
small ocean
ocean fishery
fishery probably
probably occurs.
occurs. Some
south jetty,
Sothe crabbing
crabbing
is
the docks
docks at
at the
the Westport
Westport boat
boat basin
basin by
by pot
pot or
or ring
ring net.
net.
is done
done from
from the
Success
varies, but
but is
is pretty
pretty good
in years
of high
high crab
crab abundance.
abundance.
Success varies,
good in
years of
Ocean
Beaches. Approximately
55 miles
of ocean
ocean beach
beach area
area are
are readily
readily
Ocean Beaches.
Approximately 55
miles of
accessible
between the
Columbia River
River and
and the
the Quinault
Quinault Indian
Indian Reservation
Reservation
accessible between
the Columbia
(Moclips1 plus
of the
the Quinault
Quinault
(Moclips),
plus several
several miles
miles of
of beach
beach at
at Kalaloch
Kalalock north
north of
Reservation.
Reservation. Sport
these ocean
ocean beaches
beaches is
is dependent
dependent upon
upon
Sport crabbing
crabbing on
on these
bar-lagoon formation,
formation, low
low surf
conditions, fairly
fairly clear
clear water,
water, and
and
bar-lagoon
surf conditions,
minus tides.
tides. Crabbing
is done
by wading
in lagoons
lagoons and
and potholes.
potholes.
Crabbing is
done by
wading in
Conditions are
are seldom
seldom favorable
favorable and
and success
success is
is usually
usually poor.
poor. Best
Conditions
Best
opportunity
appears to
to be
be during
early morning
morning minus
minus tides
tides in
in duly
July
opportunity appears
during early
and
and August.
August. Estimated
is less
less than
than 50
50 people
people per
per day.
day. Some
Some crab
crab
Estimated use
use is
are
taken incidental
incidental to
to razor
razor clam
clam digging
digging and
and beach
beach exploring,
exploring, and
and
are taken
it
has little
it has
has been
been noted
noted that
that minimum
minimum size,
size, sex,
sex, and
and condition
condition has
little
meaning
to these
these users.
users. Crab
taken on
hook and
and line
line
meaning to
Crab are
are occasionally
occasionally taken
on hook
by
perch
fishermen.
by perch fishermen.
Oregon
Oregon
Most
sport fishing
fishing for
in Oregon
Oregon takes
takes place
place within
within estuaries.
estuaries.
Most sport
for Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab in
Relatively
little crabbing
is done
beaches or
in the
the ocean.
ocean. Sport
Sport
Relatively little
crabbing is
done along
along ocean
ocean beaches
or in
crabbing
takes place
place in
in nearly
nearly all
the 16 principal
principal estuaries
estuaries in
in Oregon,
Oregon, even
even
crabbing takes
all of
of the
though many
them are
relatively small
contain marginal
marginal habitat
habitat for
for Dungeness
Dungeness
though
many of
of them
are relatively
small and
and contain
crabs
(CeO. Snow,
Snow, personal
personal communication).
communication).
crabs (C;D.
The
sport crabbers
crabbers fish
fish with
with
The majority
majority of
of sport
(ri ng nets)
nets) and
and aa few
few use
use crab
crab pots.
pots.
crab
rings (ying
crab rings
-5-5-
California
California
The sport
sport fishery
fishery for
for Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab in
in California
California takes
takes place
place in
in Monterey
The
Monterey
Bay, in
in the
the ocean
ers in
in San
Franci sco Bay,
Bay,
ocean off
off Bodega
Bodega Bay,
Bay, off
off pi
piers
San Francisco
Bay, off
off docks
docks and
and
in
in Humboit
Humbolt Bay,
Bay, and
and in
in Crescent
Crescent City
City Harbor.
Harbor.
in the
the ocean
ocean at
at Trinidad,
Trinidad, in
crabbing
crabbing is
is done
done with
with ring
ring nets.
nets.
Most
sports
Most sports
A
A few
few fishermen
fishermen will
will occasionally
occasionally use
use collapsible
collapsible
crab
traps.
crab traps.
SPORT HARVEST
HARVEST
SPORT
Few
have been
Few records
records have
been kept
kept on
on numbers
numbers of
of crab
crab harvested
harvested by
by sport
sport fishermen
fishermen
along the
the coast.
coast.
along
Even
Even though
though catch
catch statistics
statistics are
are not
not readily
readily available,
available, the
the sport
sport
fishery
fishery along
along the
the Washington
Washington coast
coast is
is still
still considered
considered to
to be
be minor
minor compared
compared to
to the
the
Puget
shery and
1 commerci
a1 fi
shery and
Puget Sound
Sound sport
sport fi
fishery
and the
the coasta
coastal
commercial
fishery
and probably
probably accounts
accounts
for
no more
more than
than 11 percent
percent of
of the
the total
total number
number of
of crabs
crabs harvested
harvested annually
annually in
in
for no
Washington (H.C.
(H.C. Tegelberg,
Tegelberg, personal
personal communication).
communication).
Washington
In California
the estimated
estimated
In
California the
annual sport
percent of.the
of. the annual
annual commercial
commercial
annual,
sport harvest
harvest of
of crab
crab is
is less
less than
than 0.1
0.1 percent
harvest
harvest (W.A.
(W.A. Dahlstrom,
Dahlstrom, personal
personal communication).
communication).
The
only available
available data
on sport
sport harvest
harvest of
of crab
crab is
is that
that reported
reported by
by Gotshall
Gotshall
The only
data on
(1969) and
and Gotshall
Gotshall and
and Hardy
Hardy (1969)
(1969) for
for Crescent
Crescent City,
City, California
California during
during 1965-68
1966-68
(1969)
and by
by Gaunier,
Gaumer, Demory,
(1973a
and
Demory, and
and Osis
Osis (1973a
to 19731,
1973l,
to
1974a
1974b )) and
and Gaumer,
Gaumer,
1974a and
and 1974b
Demory, Osis,
Osis, and
and Walters
Walters (1974)
(1974) for
for Oregon
Oregon estuaries
estuaries during
during 1971.
1971.
Demory,
Following
are
Following are
summaries of
of the
the results
results of
of those
those studies.
studies.
summaries
California-Oregon Border
Border Area,
Area, 1966-68
1966-68
California-Oregon
The
The sport
sport crab
crab fishery
fishery at
at Crescent
Crescent City,
City, California
California was
was monitored
monitored periodically
periodically
from
February 1966
1966 through
through March
March 1968.
1968.
from February
Sport fishermen
fishermen were
were interviewed
interviewed whenever
whenever
Sport
possible
catch data
data and
and crabs
crabs were
were measured
measured to
to determine
determine average
average size.
size.
possible for
for catch
Southern
Southern
Oregon
ports of
of Brookings
Brookings and
Port Orford
also checked
checked during
the survey
survey period,
period,
Oregon ports
and Port
Orford were
were also
during the
no sport
sport crab
crab fishery
fishery was
was observed
observed at
at these
these ports.
ports.
but no
but
-6-
A
total of
of 240
240
A total
sampling
program.
sampling program.
sp~rt crabbers
crabbers were
interviewed at
at Crescent
Crescent City
City during
during the
the
sport
were interviewed
Tt:eir
co.tch was
was 908
908 legal
legal crabs
crabs ,,'lith
boat fishermen
fishermen landing
landing
Their catch
with boat
an average
average of
of 6.1
6.1 crabs
crabs per
per fisher
fisherman
landed 0.6
0.6 crab
crab per
per
an
nan while
while pier
pier fishermen
fishermen landed
2).
fisherman (Table
(Table 2).
fisherman
Oregon Estuaries,
Estuaries, 1971
Oregon
1971
!Juring
the Oregon
Fish Commission
During 1971 the
Oregon Fish
Commission did
did aa study
study of
of the
the recreational
recreational use
use of
of
. !
fo~d
fish, 'shellfish,
and other
other marine
marine invertebrates
invertebrates iii
in 16
estuaries.
food fish,
shellfish, and
16 Oregon
Oregon estuaries.
Boat
Boat
and shore
shore anglers;
JnglerS; tideflat
tideflat users,
users, and
and scuba
scuba divers
divers were
were interviewed
interviewed for
for catch,
catch,
and
effort,
and place
place of
of origin
origin data.
data.
effort, and
!Juring
caught
During the
the period
period Narch
March 11 through
through October
October 31,
31, 1971,
1971, sports
sports fishermen
fishemen caught
an
legal male
male crabs
crabs from
from 15
15 different
different estuaries
estuaries (Table
(Table a).
3).
an estimated
estimated 199,000,
199,0DB legal
The
The
ranged from
from 5Q
SQ crabs
crabs in
in the
the Columbia River Estuary
Estuary to
to 40,000
crabs in
in
sport catch
catch ranged
40,000 crabs
Coos
Bay.
Coos Bay.
Nehalem Bay,
Bay, Tillamook
Yaquina Bay,
Nehalem
Tillamook Bay,
Bay, Netarts
Netarts Bay,
Bay, Yaquina
Bay, Alsea
Alsea River,
River, and
and
.,
Coos
Bay
together accounted
accounted for
for 87
87 percent
percent (l7a,500
(17l,50Q crabs)
crabs) of
of the
the sport
sport harvest.
harvest.
Coos Bay
together
.
-
The sport
sport harvest
harvest from
from estuaries
estuaries during
the eight-month
eight-month study
The
during the
study exceeded
exceeded the
the
commercial
harvest from
commercial harvest
from estuaries
estuaries during
during the
the entire
entire 1970-71
1970-71 season
season
LI
by 80,000 crabs
crabs 1/.
Assuming
sport-caught crabs
crabs averaged
averaged 1.5
1.5 pounds
pounds per
per crab,
crab, an
an estimated
133,000
Assuming sport-caught
estimated 133,000
pounds of
pounds
of crab
crab wel'e
were caught
caught by
by sportsmen,
sportsmen, which
which was
was approximately
approximately 1
1 percent
percent of
of the
the
total
commercial landings
landings from
from the
the ocean
ocean and
and estuaries
estuaries for
for the
the 1970-71
1970-71 season.
season.
total commercial
SPORTS-COMMERCIAL
USER CONFLICTS
CONFLICTS
SPORTS-COMMERCIAL USER
In
In Oregon
Oregon there
there has
has been
been some
some discord
discord between
between sports
sports and
and commercial
commercial fishermen
fishermen
particularly in
in the
the smaller
groups are
in direct
particularly
smaller estuaries
estuaries where
where the
the two
two groups
are in
direct competition
competition
for
a liiited
limited number
number of
of crabs.
crabs.
for a
The
problem has
has become
become more
intense in
in the
the last
last
The problem
more intense
few
few years
years because
because of
of the
the cyclic
cyclic decline
decline in
in crab
crab abundance
abundance (C.D.
(C.D. Snow,
Snow, personal
personal
communication).
communication).
1/ The
The reader
reader is
is reminded
reminded that
that when
comparing sport
sport harvest
harvest with
commercial harvest
harvest
when comparing
with commercial
,...1/
the
the sport
sport fishery
fishery can
can take
take crab
crab 5
5 3/4
3/4 inches
inches in
in carapace
carapace width,
width, whereas
whereas the
the
commercial
~ inches
inches in
in carapace
carapace width.
commercial fishery
fishery can
can not
not take
take crab
crab less
less than
than 6¼
width.
-7-7-
ble
2.
ble 2.
Number of
by Sport
Sport Fishermen
Fishermen at
at Crescent
City during
during
Number
of Dungeness
Dungeness Crabs
Crabs Caught
Caught by
Crescent City
1966-68.
1966-68.
I
I
SalOp
1 i r~ri od
Sam1jJLfriod
February
February - Ap~il
1966
AHI1 1966
Number
Interviewed
Number Fishermen
Mshermen1nterviewe
Pier
Pi
el'
Boat
Boat
Fishermen ::'i
Fishermen
Fishermen
s hermen Total
Total
Number
Crabs Caught
Number Lega"1
LaLrsCauhL_
Pier
Pier
Boat
Boat
ii Total
Fishermen Fishermen
Fishermen 1.1
Fishermen
Total
54
54
60
60
114
114
42
42
421
421
463
463
39
39
29
29
68
68
13
13
69
69
82
82
99
49
49
58
58
55
358
358
363
363
102
102
138
138
240
240
60
60
848
848
908
908
I
December 1966
1966 1-H March
March 1967
1967
December
1967-68
Seaso1 ~/
1967-68 Seasor
I
Totals
Totals
11
Average
size of
of crabs
crabs caught
caught by
by boat
boat fishermen
fishermen in
in February,
February, March,
March, and
and April
April 1966,
1966, was
was
1/
Average size
176,
168, and
166 mm
in carapace
carapace width,
width, respectively.
respectively. Crabs
Crabs caught
caught by
by boat
boat fishermen
fishermen
176, 168,
and 166
mm in
in
171, 166,
166, and
and 163
163 mm
in carapace
carapace width,
in December,
December, January,
January, and
and t~arch
March 1967-68
1967-68 averaged
averaged 171,
mm in
width,
respectively.
respectively.
~
2/
Gotshall and
and Hardy
Hardy (i969)
(1969) give
give measurements
of crabs
crabs caught
caught during
during December,
December, January,
January,
Gotshall
measurements of
and March
March 1967-68,
1967··68, but
but they
they do
do not
not state
state whether
whether these
these were
were the
the only
only months
months that
that
and
crabs
were sampled.
sampled.
crabs were
-8-
Table
Table 3.
3.
Numberofof Dungeness
DurigenessCrab
GrabCaught
CaughtininOregon
OregonEstuaries
Estuaries during
during 1971.
Number
1971.
Number Crabs Caught
Nunthcr.PChL__
Estuary
Columbia
Columbia River
Nehalem Bay
Bay
Nehalem
Ti 11 amoo kBay
Bay
Tillamook
Netarts Bay
,Bay
Sand
Sand Lake
Nestucca Bay
Bay
Salmon River
Salmon
giver
Siletz
Sil etz River
River
Yaquina Bay
gay
Alsea River
Alsea
Siuslaw
Siuslaw River
Umpqua
LlrnpquaRiver
River
Coos
Bay
Coos Bay
Coquille River
River
Rogue
Rogue River
River
Chetco River
Chetco
Totals
Sports lJ
Commercial
51
17,962
32,731
19,092
238
1,663
876
8,731
39,977
23,642
7,024
3,671
40,065
3,018
0
0
253
44,914
198,994
118,833
./
Y
Total
Percent
vercent of
ot Total
total
Catch
Caught by
by
Catch Caught
44,965
17,962
77,114
29,536
Sportsmen
<c 11
238
1,663
876
8,731
42,811
25,233
8,848
4,831
51,748
3,018
0
0
253
100
42
65
100
100
100
100
93
93
79
76
77
100
0
100
317,827
63
0
44,383
10,444
0
0
00
0
0
0
0
2,834
1,591
1,824
1,160
11,683
00
0
0
0
0
lJ
catch is
is for
forthe
theperiod
periodMarch
March1 1through
throughOctober
October 31,
31, 1971.
1971.
1.! Sport
Sport catch
11
2/
.
Commercial catch
for the
the1970-71
1970-71season.
season. Data
reports given
given
Commercial
catchis
is for
Data inin original reports
in pounds.
in
pounds. A conversion
of 25
25 pounds
pounds per
per dozen
dozen was
was used
used to estimate
estimatenumber
number
conversion of
crabs caught.
caught.
of crabs
-9-9-
A
common complaint
complaint of
of sportsmen
sportsmen is
is that
that commercial
commercial fishermen
fishermen keep
keep the
the crab
crab
A common
populations harvested
harvested to such a low
low level
level that
that it
it is
is difficult
difficult for
for sportsmen
sportsmen to
to
catch legal
legal crab.
crab.
On
hand, some
some commercial
commercial fishermen
fishermen contend
contend that
that the
the
On the
the other hand,
minimum
minimum size
size limit
limit for
for crab
crab in
in the
the sport
sport fishery
fishery should
should be
be the
the same
same as
as that
that for
for
the commerdial
commerc'.ial fishery,
fishery, which is
is 6¼
6'4 inches
inches in
in carapace
carapace width.
width.
the
The minimum size
size
i
for sport_caught
sport-c,aught crab
crab in
in Oregon is
is 55 3/4
3/4 inches
inches in
in carapace
carapace width.
width.
I
Early regulations
the harvest
harvest of
of crabs
crabs from
from Oregon
Oregon estuaries
estuaries were
were
regulations governing the
I
based on
on the
the premise
premise that
that bay
bay crabs
crabs and
and ocean
ocean crabs
crabs represented
represented two
two different
different
based
populations.
Bay and
usually were
were somewhat
some\'ihat smaller
smaller than
than the
the
and estuary populations usually
ocean population
population in
in average
average size
size and
and therefore
therefore the
the minimum
minimum size
size for
for both
both commercial
commercial
ocean
sport-caught bay
bay crabs
crabs was
was set
set at
at 55 3/4
3/4 inches.
inches.
and sport-caught
Tagging
studies later
later demon
demonTagging studies
strated that
that bay
bay and
and ocean
ocean crabs
crabs represent
represent aa single
single population
population and
and the
the commercial
con~ercial
size limit
limit for
for bay
bay crab
crab was
was increased
increased to
to 6¼
~ inches
inches to
to correspond
correspond with
with the
the commercial
commercial
size
size limit
limit for
for ocean
ocean crab,
crab, but
but the
the size
size limit
limit for
for sport-caught
sport-caught crab
crab was
was left
left at
at
size
5 3/4
3/4 inches.
inches.
5
The minimum commercial
size of
of 6¼
6\ inches
inches allows
allows the
the male
male crabs
crabs to
to
commercial size
mate once
once or
or twice
twice prior
prior to
to reachiflg
reaching legal
legal size.
size.
However,
However, the
the minimum sport size
size
limit of 55 3/4
3/4 inches
inches may allol'l
some male
male crabs
crabs to
to be
be harvested
harvested prior
prior to
to mating
mating
allow some
personal communication).
communication).
(C.D. Snow,
(C.D.
Snow, personal
It
for having
having different minimum
It appears
appears there
there is
is no
no biological
biological justification for
size limits
limits for
for the
the sport
sport and
and commercial
commercial crab
crab fisheries
fisheries in
in Oregon.
Oregon.
size
However,
even if
if
However, even
the
harvest some
some male crabs
crabs before
before they
they can
can mate
mate there
there probably
probably
the sport fishery does
does harvest
is
of the
the crab
crab population
population for
for the
the annual
annual sport
sport
is little
little effect on
on total
total productivity of
harvest
harvest in
in Oregon,
Oregon, based
based on
on catch
catch statistics
statistics for
for 1971,
1971, amounts
amounts to
to only
only about
about 1-2
1-2
percent of
of the
the total
total annual
annual crab
crab harvest.
harvest.
percent
Apparently
Apparently there
there has
has been
been little
1ittl e user
user conflict
confl i ct between
between sport
sport and
and commercial
commerci a1
crabbers in the coastal
coastal fisheries of Washington
Washington and
and California.
California.
-10-'0r
r-
r
SUMMARY AND
AND CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
SUMMARY
Data are
are not
not available
available to
to fully
fully assess
assess the
the magnitude
magnitude of the Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab
Data
sport
on aa coastwide
coastwide basis.
basis.
sport fishery
fishery on
However, based
based on
on the
the 1971
1971 resource
resource use
use study
study
However,
of Oregon
estuaries and
and on
on personal
personal observations
observations of
of shellfish
shellfish biologists
biologists from
from
of
Oregon estuaries
14ashington
California, the
Washington and
and California,
the coastal
coastal sport
sport f"ishery
fishery probably
probably does
does not
not account
account
for more
than about
about 11 percent
percent of
of the
the total
total crab
crab landings
landings annually.
annually.
for
more than
,I
There does
does not
not appear
appear to
to be
be any
any significant
significant amount
amount of
of sports-commercial
sports-commercial
There
.
I
allocational conflict
conflict in
in the
the crab
crab fishery
fishery (excluding
(excluding Puget
Puget Sound).
Sound).
allocational
There
has
There has
between sports
and commercial
commercial fishermen
fishermen in
in Oregon
Oregon primarily
primarily with
with
. been
been some
some discord
discord between
sports and
regard to
and as
as to
to minimum
minimum size
size limts,
limts, but
but it
it
regard
to who
who should
should harvest
harvest the
the resource
resourceand
has been
been restricted
restricted mainly
has
mainly to
to the
the smaller
smaller estuaries
estuaries where
where the
the two
two groups
groups are
are
competing for
for aa limited
limited number
number of
of crabs.
crabs.
competing
Ho\~ever,
the sport
sport fishery
probably
However, the
fishery will
will probably
i cts between
betl'leen the
the
increase
increase in
in the
the future
future and
and conn
conflicts
tvlO user
user groups
groups will
wi 11 also
a1s'o- increase.
increase.
two
it seems
the respective
respective state
Therefore,
Therefore, it
seems advisable
advisable for
for the
state croab
crab projects
projects to
to consider
consider
implement~ng
fishery.
implthnenting programs
programs to
to monitor
monitor the
the sport
sport fishery.
LITERATURE
CITED
LITERATURE CITED
Gaumer,
Osis.
Gaurner, T.,
T., D.
D. De~ory,
Demory, and
and L.
L. Osis.
.. use
study.
use study,
,
-
_______.'
1973b.
1973b.
1971
resource
1971 Nehalem
Nehalem River
aiver Estuary
Estuary resource
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 27
27 p.
p.
Fish Comm.
Fish
, and
and
,
1971
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Columbia
Columbia River
River Estuary
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 16
16 p.
p.
Fish
, and
and
use
study.
use study.
1973a.
1973a.
' . 1973c.
1973c.
1971
resource use
use study.
study.
1971 Tillamook
Tillamook Bay
Bay resource
Fish
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 28
28 p.
p.
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
____ '
-
study.
study.
-,-~
_ _, and
and
,
_
1973d.
1973d.
1971 Sand
use·
1971Sand Lake
Lake Estuary
Estuary resource
resource use
Fish
Comm. Oregon
Process. Rept.
Rept. 24
24 p.
p.
Fish Comm.
Oregon Process.
-ri-- .
-11-
-iF..
____,
and _______
_
____,and
use
study.
use study.
.
-
1973f.
i973f.
1971
River Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Salmon
Salmon River
Fish
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 24
24 P.
p.
____, and
and
use
use
1971
River Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Nestucca
Nestucca River
Fish
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 24
24 p.
p.
Fish Comm.
____, and
and
use study.
use
study.
1973e.
1973e.
_
1973g.
1973g.
1971
etz River
River Estuary
Estuary resource
y'esource
1971 SiJ
Siiez
study.
Fish
st~dY.
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept,
Rept. 27
27 p.
p.
i
-----,. .
use
st0dy.
use sthdy.
, and
_
and _______
_
1973i.
1973i.
1971
River Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Coquille
Coquille River
Fish
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Pl'ocess. Rept.
Rept. 27
27 p.
p.
Oregon Process.
, and
and
use
use study.
study.
1971
Rivel' Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Alsea
Alsea River
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept,
Rept. 28
28 p.
p.
Fish
____, and
and
use study.
study.
use
1973h.
1973h.
_
1973j.
1973j.
1971
River Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Umpqua
Jmpqua River
Fish
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process,
Process. Rept,
Rept. 27
27 p.
p.
____, and
and
_
1973k.
1973k.
1971
1971 Coos
Coos Bay
Bay Resource
Resource use
use study.
study.
Fish Comm.
Co~~. Oregon
Process.
Rept. 28
28 p.
p.
Fish
Oregon Proc
ess. Rept.
and _______
_
and
resource
use study.
study.
resource use
-
1974a.
1974a.
1971
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Netarts
Netarts Bay
Bay Estuary
Fish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept,
Rept. 28
28 p.
p.
Fish
_'--_ _, and
and
use
study.
use study.
,
1971
and Rogue
Rogue River
River Estuaries
Estuaries
1971 Chetco
Chetco and
Fish
Process. Rept.
Rept. 28
28 P.
p.
F ish Comm.
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
____, and
and ______
_
use study.
use
study.
19732-.
19731.
_
1974b.
1974b.
1971
River Estuary
Estuary resource
resource
1971 Siuslaw
Siuslaw River
Fish
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
28 p.
p.
Fish Comm.
ept. 28
______, and
and C.
C. Walters.
Walters.
use
study.
use study.
Gotshal1, D.W.
D.W.
Gotshall,
1974.
1974.
1970-71
Bay resource
resource
1970-71 Yaquina
Yaquina Bay
Comm. Oregon
Oregon Process.
Process. Rept.
Rept. 32
32 p.
p.
Fish
Fish Comm.
1969.
1969.
Port
Port sampling
sampling at
at Crescent
Crescent City-Brookings-Port
City-Brookings-Port Orford,
Orford,
November
November 1966
1966 -- October
October 1967.
1967.
Pac. Mar.
Fish. Comm.,
Comm., 20th
20th Ann.
Rept. for
for the
the
Pac.
Mar. Fish.
Ann. Rept.
Year 1967,
1967, pp.
pp. 50-51.
50-51.
Year
Gotshall,
D.W. and
and R.
R. Hardy.
Hardy.
Gotshall, D.W.
November
November 1968.
1968.
pp. 28-31.
28-31.
pp.
1969.
1969.
Final
port sampling,
sampling, January
1966 -Final Report
Report of
of port
January 1966
Pac.
Comm., 21st
21st Ann.
Ann. Rept.
Rept. for
for the
the year
year 1968,
1968,
Pac. Mar.
Mar. Fish.
Fish. Comm.,