In an Industry Notice released on Monday of this week, Jan. 11, WDFW Coastal Shellfish Manager, Dan Ayres, informed state fishers that there will be a delay in the opening of Coastal Dungeness Crab fishery to state fishers in the area between Destruction Island and the U.S./Canada border.
According to the Notice: The harvest management plan with the Quileute tribe includes a provision to ensure that there are 20 fishable days for Quileute fishers between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15 prior to opening the state fishery.
Weather and fishery data have been evaluated by both WDFW and Quileute Dungeness crab managers and currently, there are less than 20 fishable days.
Next week we will provide an update of the accounting of weather days and any decisions on when this area will open to state fishers.