Locals will start seeing the lights of the crab boats dotting the horizon on the Oregon Coast and beyond. A strike by thousands of West Coast crab fishermen that lasted 11-days has ended after a successful negotiation of prices with major buyer Pacific Seafood and other seafood processors. The agreement was reached late Friday(1/6). This will enable the restart the commercial Dungeness crab season in Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The crabbers were asking the original $3 per pound that was agreed upon at the start of the south coast season. Then the processors backed off when the rest of the coast opened for commercial crabbing and offered $2.75 per pound prompting the strike.

The agreed upon price with major buyer Pacific Choice Seafood was in between at $2.875 per pound. The strike left crab pots empty along the Oregon, Washington and Central and Northern California Coast during what would normally be a very busy time of year when fishermen are out setting their pots and pulling in crabs. The season’s beginning was also slowed by the presence of domoic acid. January 1st was the scheduled opening day for crab season along the entire Oregon coast. Now the crab are clean healthy and full and are completely safe to eat. The revenue for crab in Oregon alone is $50-million.