The Port of Ilwaco is often bustling with activity.

ILWACO — The Washington commercial crab season swam to life with fishermen setting pots over the weekend in preparation for the first pull on Wednesday, Feb. 1, the first official day of the season following a two-month delay due to low meat yields.

The late start for the 2022-2023 commercial season and rumors of the initial price offering by processors has been a letdown, according to fishermen.

Last season, the harvest started Dec. 1, 2021 with a record $5 price, but local fishermen are bracing for less as an official price has yet to be announced.

“Last year we got a good price. This year we’re probably not getting a very good price,” said F/V Cutting Edge owner Brian Cutting, upon returning to port for his second load of pots on Sunday morning.

“We haven’t heard numbers out of here, probably when we bring our first boatload of crab, but we’ve heard numbers out of other places. It’s going to be unknown here, we’re not sure yet,” Cutting said.

Starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29, crabbers began setting their pots for a 72-hour soak period with the first pots being permitted to be pulled at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Although the air temperature was nippy, weather and ocean conditions were otherwise ideal for the first day, fishermen reported.

“The ocean was really good. It was a lot better conditions this year than it was last year for dumping pots. It was a lot flatter and safer for everybody,” Cutting said.

Smorgasbord

Fishermen often bait the crab pots with a combination of tuna, squid or razor clams.

“It’s kind of a little smorgasbord for them,” Cutting said. A full pot can yield several keeper-size crabs, with only the males with a minimum size of 6.25 inches may be kept.

“We had lots of pots with 50 or more last year. It was good and so was the price. Last year was probably the best I’d seen in my career,” Cutting said.

Good money, usually

The Dungeness crab harvest is Washington state’s most valuable commercial fishery. The seasons have generated on average $47.92 million to crabbers in the past decade. Historically a majority of the crab caught — up to 75% — is landed in the first few weeks of the season.

“Typically, a lot of it is caught right at the get-go, in the first couple weeks. It’s the first crab of the season and they’re the hungriest. As those get caught there’s just less and less and less as time goes on,” Cutting said.

Cutting, now entering his 39th season as a vessel owner, said this season would likely be a short one for him and his crew due to the price of crab combined with rising fuel and expense costs.

“It might pay for the expenses, maybe, but it’s hard to say. I already told my guys we’re not going to crab very long; in four or six weeks we’ll be done,” Cutting said.

“The price of fuel and bait is just sky-high right now, and to throw a real low price at us for the crab… it’s going to be hard to break even. I’m not looking forward to it. I should have probably retired after last year.”

The first official offloads of the season are anticipated to arrive at local processors early in the afternoon Wednesday, pending any delays due to weather.