Fisheries staff from Quinault Indian Nation’s Division of Natural Resources conducted a Dungeness crab test fishery in October, a crucial step for determining whether the tribe’s commercial crab fishery is ready to open.
Every year, tribal fisheries staff set out crab pots, then pull them up after a 48-hour soak.
Fisheries staff inspect the crab’s shells to see if they’re soft or hard. A soft shell means the crab has not yet grown a protective shell after molting its old one. A hard shell means the crab is further along in its shell-growing stage and closer to being harvestable.
The crab are then turned over to a processor who determines how much of the crab by weight consists of meat. That rate must be 23% or higher—combined with more than half of the crab being hard-shelled—for the fishery to be opened.
“We test crab to see if they’re marketable so we can open up our fisheries,” said Scott Mazzone, the tribe’s shellfish and marine fish biologist. “If there’s not enough meat in the crab, they won’t sell for a good price. Fishermen don’t want to fish for crab under those circumstances.”
The tribe coordinates its survey with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The tribe and state set crab pots at different depths and locations to cover a wider range. The surveys follow protocol established under a tristate agreement with Washington, Oregon and California.
The October test fishery indicated that the crab were not quite ready for harvest. After additional testing a few weeks later, the fishery opened Dec. 29.
Pacific Seafoods staff assist the Quinault Indian Nation with surveying and crab offloading. Story and photo: Trevor Pyle
