Big storms hit crabbers at a bad time
FLORENCE, Ore. (AP) - Dungeness crab may not be the guest star at the table for New Year's Eve celebrations in the Pacific Northwest this year.
High winds and resulting ocean swells have pinned down crabbing fleet, and it doesn't look to let up anytime soon.
"I'm not very optimistic," said Ryan Rogers, the owner of Fishermen's Market in Eugene.
Since the states most valuable fishery opened Dec. 1, crabbers have landed 6.5 million pounds - a sign of an average season. But most crabs are caught in the first eight to 10 weeks of the year.
The season started on a high note, thanks to smooth negotiations between processors and the fleet and an opening price to skippers of $2 a pound, significantly higher than last years opener of $1.65.
But days after crabbers set their first pots in the water, hurricane-force winds battered the coast, scattering gear and burying pots in sand and rocks.
Newport crabber Mark Newell figures he's down 50 pots, or 10 percent of his supply.
"I've got 40 pots stuck where I can't see them," Newell said.
He has ordered more pots, but in the meantime revenues are down 10 percent, he said.
If the weather lets up, the outlook is good.
The lackluster supply led to a price hike from $2.00 to $2.50 per pound, and the crabs themselves are fat and healthy, said Al Pazar, chairman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
"They're big, they're full. There are very few cripples, with a lost leg or claw," Pazar said. "This is about as good a product as you're going to see."
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
High winds and resulting ocean swells have pinned down crabbing fleet, and it doesn't look to let up anytime soon.
"I'm not very optimistic," said Ryan Rogers, the owner of Fishermen's Market in Eugene.
Since the states most valuable fishery opened Dec. 1, crabbers have landed 6.5 million pounds - a sign of an average season. But most crabs are caught in the first eight to 10 weeks of the year.
The season started on a high note, thanks to smooth negotiations between processors and the fleet and an opening price to skippers of $2 a pound, significantly higher than last years opener of $1.65.
But days after crabbers set their first pots in the water, hurricane-force winds battered the coast, scattering gear and burying pots in sand and rocks.
Newport crabber Mark Newell figures he's down 50 pots, or 10 percent of his supply.
"I've got 40 pots stuck where I can't see them," Newell said.
He has ordered more pots, but in the meantime revenues are down 10 percent, he said.
If the weather lets up, the outlook is good.
The lackluster supply led to a price hike from $2.00 to $2.50 per pound, and the crabs themselves are fat and healthy, said Al Pazar, chairman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
"They're big, they're full. There are very few cripples, with a lost leg or claw," Pazar said. "This is about as good a product as you're going to see."
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)