Oregon, Washington Advance Toward Dungeness Crab Decision as Test Results Roll In

West Coast crabbers and fishery managers are entering a decisive week for the 2025-26 Dungeness crab season, with a season-opening announcement scheduled for Friday, following the recent release of Washington test results. 

According to an industry notice from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, crab from Long Beach did not meet the Tri-State meat recovery threshold for a Dec. 1 opener.  

Crab from Westport did meet the criteria, with a 25% meat recovery result, but some crab is still soft...

Butch Smith Seeks Re-Election to Port of Ilwaco Commission

Longtime Port of Ilwaco Commissioner and fisheries advocate Al “Butch” Smith is seeking another six-year term on the District 3 seat he has held since 2013. Smith, who currently serves as chair of the three-member board, will face former port manager Guy Glenn Jr. in the Nov. 4 general election. 

Smith is a lifelong resident of Ilwaco and an advocate for both recreational and commercial fishermen, stating that he is running to ensure the port continues to serve the needs of the working waterfront...

Record Return of Hatchery Chinook Expected to Whatcom Creek

More than 7,000 Chinook salmon are expected to return to Whatcom Creek in downtown Bellingham this season thanks to an ongoing collaboration between Bellingham Technical College, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe. 

A few thousand fish may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of Puget Sound and the West Coast, but successful returns of hatchery fish across multiple creeks could alleviate some concern over prey species for Southern Resident orcas and boost populations for tribal...

Center for Food Safety Sues to Shut Down Nine Shellfish Aquaculture Sites in Washington 

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and a local Washington organization against shellfish farming, have filed a motion in federal court to shut down nine coastal shellfish operations in Washington.

The lawsuit — which challenges permits obtained by the Army Corps of Engineers — alleges that the federal government failed to notify the public or conduct an environmental assessment prior to beginning operations.

Instead, CFS and local partner Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, claim the Army Corps used permit review procedures known as...

2025 West Coast Pacific Halibut Fishery Opens June 24 

The first of two halibut fishery openers begins next week in federal waters off the West Coast. The first opener starts on Tuesday, June 24 at 8 a.m. and ends on Thursday, June 26 at 6 p.m. The second opener begins on Tuesday, July 9 at 8 a.m. and ends on Thursday, July 10 at 6 p.m. 

This year’s quota for Pacific halibut for the Area 2A fishery is 259,515 pounds, net weight. If the quota is not met, a third fishing period will begin two weeks after...

West Coast Salmon Season Alternatives Set; PFMC to Finalize in April 

It was a tough week for salmon fishermen and salmon managers as the Pacific Fishery Management Council crafted three alternatives for 2025 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California.  

The Salmon Technical Team, which includes state, federal and tribal fishery managers, had to deal with limited access to federal partners, corrupted data files, limited times to run models and more. But in the end, the Team, advisers and Council established three commercial and recreational alternatives for review. 

The Council will make a final decision...

NWAA Sues Washington DNR Over Commercial Net Pen Ban, Citing Flawed Rulemaking

The Northwest Aquaculture Alliance (NWAA) filed a lawsuit against Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for its ban of commercial finfish net pen aquaculture in state waters.

NWAA President, Jim Parsons, said DNR, led by its former Lands Commissioner, “Conducted a predetermined and inadequate rulemaking process that ignored the best-available science and ignored the intent of the State Legislature when it set forth a new law allowing for the production of native species in commercial net pens...

Washington Crab Season Opens as State Releases the Third Season Review Edition

The weather is cooperating and crabbers in northern Oregon and Washington have begun setting their gear for the anticipated Jan. 15 Dungeness season opener.

While most of Oregon opened in December and some parts of California opened earlier this month, northern California and the Washington/Oregon area around the Columbia River were both set to open Wednesday.

Dungeness crab supports Washington’s most valuable commercial fishery, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said. The value of state landings for the ...

FDA Issues Another Shellfish Advisory Amid Widening Norovirus Outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its fourth advisory in recent weeks, warning Oregon and Washington retailers, restaurants and consumers against selling or consuming certain shellfish due to norovirus concerns. 

The January 2 advisory focused on shellstock oysters harvested from 12/02/2024 to 12/17/2024 by Ruco’s Shellfish (WA-1995-SS) from a portion of Hammersley Inlet growing area in Washington State. The impacted oysters were distributed in Washington and Oregon and may have been sent to other states...

Bicameral Effort Urges Interior Secretary to Restore $1.28M For Salmon Habitat in Washington

On July 29, ten members of Congress from Washington state sent a strongly worded letter to Interior Secretary Doug Bergum urging him to restore funds for the Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs).

“We write to express our deep concern regarding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) elimination of $1,285,000 of Fiscal Year 2025 funding for Washington state’s Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs),” the letter began, led by Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Representative Rick Larsen...

Cowlitz Tribe and NOAA Improved Lower Columbia River Tributary for Salmon and Steelhead

In Southeast Washington, NOAA funding is supporting the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s goal of restoring 30 percent or more of the salmon and steelhead habitat on its traditional lands in the lower Columbia River watershed.  

Last year the 55-foot-tall, 425-foot-long Kwoneesum Dam on Wildboy Creek was removed with the help of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation grant of $3.3 million. The dam had blocked upstream salmon and steelhead migration on the creek for almost 60 years...

Summer Crab Season Rules Take Effect in Washington

Summer months mean new fishing seasons, warmer weather and, in the case of Dungeness crabbing on the West Coast, new rules.   

As whales become more prevalent and crabs begin to molt, the states implement more restrictive gear rules, time constraints, landing limits or permitting requirements. In Washington, that means the Coastal Dungeness Crab Summer Fishery Management Plan takes effect as of 12:01 a.m. on July 6, through the end of this year’s season.  

According to the plan, crabbers cannot possess or land more than 2,500...

West Coast Salmon Seasons Set: No California Season, Limited Elsewhere

After a week of tense negotiations and discussion, salmon managers finally adopted a set of seasons for Washington, Oregon, and California, as of Tuesday, April 15. Now it’s up to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) for approval.  

California commercial season is simple: It’s closed. For the third year in a row. Recreational salmon fishermen will get a chance at a fishery this year, though, the first since 2022. 

Oregon has limited opportunity, due to concerns of Klamath and Sacramento River stocks...

Oregon Considers Following in Washington’s Footsteps with Aquaculture Legislation

The Oregon Legislature is considering a bill that would ban open water finfish aquaculture, a move some say is a preemptive strike based on Washington’s ban last year. 

House Bill 2965 sets requirements for raising fish as food for humans and creates a related fund for managing those efforts.  

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mark Gamba, a Democrat from the Portland metropolitan area and co-sponsored by other Democrats. The first hearing on the bill was held on Wednesday this week, in the Committee on Agriculture, Land Use...

Last Areas in Washington Will Open for Dungeness Soon

As Dungeness crab seasons go, this one has seen progressive openings along the West Coast that has kept crab in the marketplace but also created a convoluted overlay of regulatory boundaries, especially in Washington.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that the coastal Dungeness crab fishery will open from Klipsan Beach, Wash., to the US/Canada border, including Grays Harbor to state crabbers on February 11, 2025. Special Management Areas, ...

Washington Hits the Magic Number to Open Dungeness Fishery

At long last, the Dungeness crab off Long Beach in Washington tested full enough to open the fishery north of Cape Falcon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday that Oregon's commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open Jan. 15 from Cape Falcon, on the northern Oregon Coast, to Klipsan Beach, Washington. A fourth round of preseason testing in Long Beach, Wash., shows crab quality at 24.3%, which is above the 23% necessary to open the season. In other words, it meets the optimal commercial harvest ...

Washington Crab Season Delayed Until at Least January 15; Oregon Going Strong

The news Monday was not exactly a lump of coal, but an early Christmas “gift” many fishermen suspected would be coming: An extended delay into January for the start of the Washington/Northern Oregon crab season.

In an announcement Monday, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said its crab managers met with other fishery managers from Oregon and California earlier in the day to determine the best option for an opening. However, the third round of testing showed crab from Long Beach, Wash., was only ...