Price talks further delay Dungeness crab season

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – The commercial Dungeness crab season was set to open Monday in most of Oregon and Washington state, but price negotiations and ocean conditions kept boats at home.

The season traditionally opens Dec. 1, but was delayed to mid-January because crabs did not have shells full of meat.

Crabbers tell The Daily Astorian that major processors had offered crabbers $2.30 a pound – not enough to get them to go out. The price inched up during the state-sponsored negotiation period in Oregon, but by the time those negotiations ended the processors’ price still remained under last season’s average starting price of $2.89 per pound.

Talks are continuing.

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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com