Feeling crabby in a time of closures

We have become very familiar with the concept of closures lately, and they’re not without cause nor reason. This is a helpful reminder when looking at another type of closure in our local waterways: the harvest of Dungeness crabs.

Full disclosure: I love these crustaceans. I love educating folks about them, watching them go about their crabby lives, examining their molts, and yes, eating them.

What I’ve learned is that protecting the things we love requires a tango of give-and-take. Our willingness to compromise for what we value the most is inevitably how we get anything done.

Closure is our compromise. To protect our communities in this unprecedented time and, in the case of the crabs, to let a species repopulate.

Dungeness crab are coveted for their flavor. They’re sweet and buttery even when unbuttered. This has made them the preferred catch of mariners and diners alike, and part of the reason the population has sharply declined in the south Puget Sound (Area 13, as the state knows it). This designated area spans from the northern tip of Vashon Island southwards to Budd Inlet in Olympia.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) documented a nearly 97% drop in Dungeness harvest from 2012-2017. Specifically, a peak of 289,505 pounds down to 9,457 pounds in that five-year span.

Room to recover

To be harvestable in Washington, Dungeness need to be both male and 6.25 inches from notch to notch on their carapace (shell). In 2018, WDFW didn’t find any Dungeness juveniles sized 3.5-5.7 inches in Area 13, indicating what could be a missing population link of youngsters. The fast-acting decision to close harvests was made that same year; asking the public for compromise to give this species the room to recover.

To be clear, overharvesting wasn’t necessarily what depleted the Dungeness. Similar test fishing by WDFW on the Washington coast and around the Strait of Juan de Fuca has indicated healthy populations, and as of April 2020, crabbing is still open in these areas.

WDFW notes that environmental changes and the geography of the south Puget Sound may be playing a role. The south Puget Sound, with its many shallow corridors and bays, can be warmer than the rest of the Sound. In addition, surface salinity can be affected by the number of surrounding rivers flowing into the Sound, coupled with increased snow melt. All of these could impact the survival of crab larvae and the foraging behavior of juvenile crabs.

Red Rocks and Tanner, too

When the crabbing season closed in 2018, it also closed for harvest of Red Rock and Tanner crabs, two neighboring species. Red Rock crabs have a shallower range than Dungeness; Tanners can be found in deeper water. They cohabitate and thrive through their preferred habitats. The reasoning for a triple-crab-closure is to avoid the bycatch of Dungeness, or unintended mortality by accidentally catching Dungeness. By closing all crabbing in Area 13 and others, WDFW gave Dungeness the best chance at survival.

What we learn in the time of closures is up to us. As we go into a third year without crab harvesting in the Sound, many wonder if the effort is worth it. How long does it take a species to recover? We don’t know. The best we can do is wait it out, have patience, and remind ourselves that, hopefully, at the end of the day, the compromise will protect what — and who — we love the most.

I hear that imitation crab meat is still in stock at the store.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 12:00 AM.