Originally uploaded by JoeDuck.
Crabbers in Crescent City, CA wait for news that it’s OK to head out fishing. Price, technicalities, and some fisheries concerns delayed the catch a few days but the crabs are coming in now!
Joe Duck
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Joe Duck 
Oregon crabbers reached an agreement on price yesterday or Weds I believe and will be heading out, I would assume, today as this is the first calm day we’ve had in a while.
Dungenss is the best, hopefully we may see $2.99/Lb, not unheard of this time of year in PDX. $3.99 is the lowest I’ve seen thus far.
Thx Paul – love that Dungeness Crab and hope it’s cheap enough to keep costs down on our annual all you can eat crab feast.
When is the crab feast?
Hey Glenn – not sure yet but next week is looking good and of course you are INVITED!
I heard us city slickers shouldn’t go to Oregon in the winter it is a might too slippery for us. đ
So you have urself ur own crab feast eh? Sounds like a party for sure.
Here in Northern California pretty much every year we have to wait until a price is hammered out between the fishermen and processors.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/15/MNGE7MD6EH1.DTL&hw=crab+fishermen&sn=005&sc=266
this is good to:
http://lifestyle.msn.com/Relationships/LoveandRomance/ArticleRB.aspx?cp-
documentid=1500751
How long are they out crabbing?
That second link should be this:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/22/FDG66ME7M11.DTL&hw=crab+fishermen&sn=001&sc=1000
don’t know how that other one got there. . . .
glen,
Don’t know whent the season ends. I think it runs a few months.
Thx Jason – good links!
Glenn I don’t really understand the process well, but I think they all go out frantically at first because you can get a lot more crabs early in the season, so this is the easy money. The season seems to last 2-3 months.
My only knowledge of this is from the Discovery series about the Alaskian fisherman. I believe it is called Dead or Alive…
Pretty rough stuff.
Am sure Joe had a different meaning, but easy money it isn’t…almost every year crabbers and/or fisherman die off Oregon’s coast. Can’t remember what the statistic is, but my memory is that commercial Ocean fishing is in the top 10, maybe even the top 5, for most hazardous occupations. I toast those brave men & women every time I sit down to a plate of delectable sea spiders, as my brother calls them.
Right Paul – I should have said something like “better ROI on time”… I don’t think Oregon crabbing is in the same hazard league as the Alaska crabbing but it’s not an easy profession I’m sure. Note: Alaska is King Crab where Oregon is almost all Dungeness.
Update: Four days after I wrote this 3 Oregon Crab Fisherman died at the mouth of the Rogue River in Gold Beach. The story got very little attention despite the fact it was just 70 miles downriver from where the Kim Family was lost on their way to Gold Beach – a story that will rank as one the top news stories of 2006.
http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=14137
The show on discovery is called Deadliest Catch
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html
Gives you a really good appreciation of just how hard the work is. I believe it is the most dangerous job in the world.
I saw some of those “Deadliest Catch” shows and was amazed at how harsh and dangerous it was up in the Alaska Fishery.
I think on the last one they said something about Government changes to the fishing rules to make it less of a “race” which I understood was one of the reasons it’s been such a dangerous profession.
I also learned I would rather eat a crab than fish for one and I’d rather fish for a crab than … be one.
No great sales yet, lowest I’ve seen is 4.99/lb at Safeway, and their butcher said the Dungeness have been small thus far, all under 1.5 lbs. I don’t get too excited until they get closer to 2 lbs….anything over that is a bonus….think 2.5 was about the biggest I ever procured.
(15) does the size of the crab affect the taste and quality?
I can certainly attest, as the second articl I linked to above notes, that the Chinese neighborhoods have the cheapest crab. I think I’ve seen 3.99/lb in my neighborhood. There are a lot of asian supermarkets in this neighborhood that always have the cheapest seafood.
The quality is contingent on freshness, the sooner you get it from the ocean to your plate, the better. The size is more about cost/benefit…you’re doing a lot of cracking with dungeness regardless, but once you get under a certain size, you’re getting a lot less meat for the same amount of work.
JOE – Crab alert ! Crab alert ! – don’t know if they have a Thriftway near Talent, but fresh dungeness are sale this week for $2.99 / Lb – that is the lowest they ever go.
Paul thanks!
We don’t have Thriftway but Ray’s had 2.99 per pound fresh crab (Safeway that day was at 4.99!).
So our annual ‘feast’ last week with some friends didn’t break the bank. I bought 8 of them, about 1.5 pounds average, and we all had all we wanted with some leftovers I’m enjoying.
Crab is really is one of those unique, delicious tastes that you can’t describe easily. I also love Lobster but it’s a lot more expensive out here and for me they are about equal experiences.
So much for me saying Oregon Crab fishing is not dangerous:
http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=14137
I am looking for work on a crab boat. First time on a carb boat. I am a hard working 18 years old. Please if anyone has a opening on a boat email me please!
Joe,
We’re from Grants Pass, traveling through Crescent City on the 30th. Where’s the best place to buy some good size crab?
Thanks,
Kristi
Hi Kristi – You might start down at the docks to see if there are fresh crabs, but frankly the best prices are often at Safeway or whatever chain has the best special going. We had crab a week ago at about $3 per pound cooked from Fred Meyer but they sold out very fast.