The first round of meat-fill tests for Oregon’s 2026-27 commercial Dungeness crab season is in, and the south coast is looking ready. The central coast is still a question mark, partly because of a bar crossing that went wrong.
Every fall, before the season can open on Dec. 1, state biologists and the industry pull sample crab from test areas up and down the coast and measure how much meat is in the shell. Crab that molted recently are watery and light. Selling them early hurts the price and the reputation of the fishery, so Oregon, Washington and California use a shared Tri-State protocol that sets minimum meat-fill percentages before boats can drop pots.
What the Nov. 6 tests showed
Results posted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife from tests on Nov. 6 cleared the 24% Oregon threshold everywhere crab made it back to the dock:
- Coos Bay North: 27.8%
- Coos Bay South: 27.5%
- Brookings: 27.0%
- Port Orford: 26.0%
Two areas didn’t produce a usable sample. Pots were pulled off Pacific City and Newport North, but the crab washed overboard while the boats were crossing the bar on the way in. Under the testing rules, that counts as a failed test, and those areas will need to be sampled again.
Astoria, Garibaldi and Newport South had not been tested yet in that round. Up the coast at Westport, Wash., crab tested at 19.2% on Oct. 21, short of Washington’s 23% mark.
Why it matters for the opener
Meat fill is only half of the decision. Crab also have to pass domoic acid testing. Domoic acid is a natural toxin produced by certain algae blooms, and it builds up in crab guts. When levels run high in an area, the Oregon Department of Agriculture can require crab from there to be eviscerated, meaning the guts are removed before sale, under state rules. That’s slower and costlier for processors.
If enough areas fail either test, the opener can be pushed back in two-week steps, and sometimes the coast opens in pieces. Last season didn’t open on time. ODFW announced in early December 2025 that the commercial season would open Dec. 16 from Cape Falcon to the California border. North of Cape Falcon followed separately.
So the strong south coast numbers are good news for Coos Bay, Charleston, Port Orford and Brookings boats. Newport and the north coast will have to wait for retests before anyone knows whether Dec. 1 is realistic up here.
What’s at stake in Newport
Dungeness crab is the single most valuable fishery in Oregon, and in a lot of years it’s what keeps the Yaquina Bay fleet solvent through winter. We looked at how much weight crab carries in Newport’s economy earlier this fall. The first weeks of the season usually account for a big share of the year’s landings, because that’s when the crab are thickest on the grounds and the price per pound is set.
This season has an extra wrinkle. After the fire at Pacific Seafood’s Newport plant, boat owners have been asking where their catch will go. Buying and processing capacity on the bayfront matters a lot more in December, when a large share of the season’s crab crosses the docks in a few weeks, than it does in a slow month.
What happens next
ODFW posts weekly updates on testing and the season opening on its commercial crab page, and the state crab advisory committee and industry are consulted before a final call. If retests come back strong for the central and north coast, the department could announce a coastwide Dec. 1 opener. If not, expect another split season, with the south coast going first.
Recreational crabbing is separate and follows its own rules, including closures tied to domoic acid. Anyone heading out to crab in the bays should check ODFW’s current shellfish closures before going.
Silas Kerrigan covers business, the tourism economy and household finance in Lincoln County.
