Dungeness Crab

Dungeness crab are found throughout the Northeast Pacific in Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia, and Alaska. Dungeness crab have low inherent vulnerability to fishing pressure due to characteristics like high fecundity and a relatively short lifespan, according to Seafood Watch. Their abundance fluctuates cyclically, likely due to environmental conditions. Their stock abundance is uncertain, Seafood Watch reported. British Columbia has a regionally limited stock assessment for the crab, and the U.S. lacks a formal independent stock assessment program. Despite that, data from landings appear to show that the stocks are not overfished.

Dungeness crab are usually caught in steel traps called pots that have built-in exits to allow undersized crabs to escape. They also have biodegradable webs to prevent ghost fishing should the pot get lost. The gear to catch Dungeness crab is intended to sit in place on sand and mud habitats so impacts on the seafloor are minimal. 

The pots used in the Dungeness crab fisheries allow fishermen to release unintended bycatch easily, usually without harming them. Gear interactions between humpback and gray whales have been known in some California, Oregon and Washington fisheries, Seafood Watch noted. While those entanglements are rare, endangered species can only withstand minimal mortalities from fishing activities, the 2015 report cautioned.

Dungeness crab are managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in British Columbia. In the United States, they are managed by the California and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Management measures include a permitting system, limits on pots and the target of legal sized males. There are also harvest closures during peak molting. Seafood Watch called the harvest strategy management moderately effective for British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. However, a 2015 report noted that management improvements are needed in Alaska to help some depleted Dungeness crab populations recover.