The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that recreational and commercial crabbing is now open from Cape Blanco, north of Port Orford, to the California border.
Crab samples taken from the area indicate that levels of the marine biotoxin domoic acid have dropped below the alert level. As a result, the entire Oregon coast is now open for recreational and commercial crabbing, free of restrictions.
For commercial crabbing, ODA and ODFW have lifted the requirement that all crab harvested from Cape Blanco to the California border be eviscerated (gutted).
It is still always recommended that crab be eviscerated and the guts or butter discarded prior to cooking. When whole crab are cooked in liquid, the domoic acid may leach into the cooking liquid. It is recommended to discard the cooking liquid, and do not use it in other dishes, such as sauces, broths, soups, roux, etc. The consumption of crab viscera is also not recommended.
ODA and ODFW will continue monitoring marine toxins in crab and shellfish to ensure that the concentrations remain below the alert level.
Test results from southern Oregon crab viscera samples indicate domoic acid below alert levels for two tests in a row. ODFW and Oregon Dept. of Agriculture are lifting the evisceration order for Cape Blanco to the Oregon/California border (Harvest Areas 50-K and 50-L). This action is retroactive to the date of landing for the most recent sample, February 27th. Therefore, only crab landed between 12:01 a.m. February 13th and 12:01 a.m. February 27th must be eviscerated.
The recreational fishery in this area is now open.
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