Northwest Wild Products 

 West Coast Dungeness Crab

The Oregon Crab season generally lasts from Dec- ember 1st to August 1st. The season is closed during the fall because of softer shells and  low meat content. Only the largest males are allowed to be kept by the commercial fishermen that supply our crab. This keeps the west coast Dungeness Crab at healthy levels every year. A "full" hard shell Dungeness crab will contain 30% of the total weight as meat. A West Coast Dun- geness crab can live from Southern Alaska to Central California. Crab at different latitudes are on slightly different "shell schedules". A good percentage of Far North crab still have hard shells into the fall months while the crab off of Oregon, Washington and California go "soft". This is why prices are higher in the late summer and fall months.

The Catch

      Using large boats, Crab Fishermen will drop 300 to 400 pots within a few miles of the coast to open the December Crab season. Pots are baited with pieces of inexpensive fish with a high oil content. After a soak for 2-3 says, smaller boats run the pots. Crab are graded for quality and size and only large full males are kept. Females and smaller crab are thrown back and pots are baited again. Crab are brought to shore live and then onto markets throughout the World. Crab prices are set by meeting of a Fishermen Organizations and Canneries before the season. This year's price is  higher than ever at $2.30lb. The opening price is only a starting point and at many times throughout the year Oregon canneries will pay much more than the agreed price. This has already happened this year, as the market is stretched thin by low catch numbers and high world demand. Fishermen are currently getting over $5.00lb for their catch.

Handling And Preparation

Crab should be cooked live or within a few hours after death. For lighter meat color and a more subtle crab taste, crab can be "backed" and then cooked. Full flavor enthusiasts will cook and then "back" the crab.

Dungeness Crab should be cooked in boiling water for at least 15 minutes with a good amount of Ice Cream salt mixed into the water. After cooking, crab should be placed into ice water to cool. A quick rinse will give you warm crab to consume immediately, while cooling further will ready it for longer term storage. Depending on the salt levels, crab should be consumed or froze within 2-6 days. High salt levels, picking the meat, and storing it in containers, will increase longevity.

Get your fresh cooked crab for the Astoria - Warrenton Crab and Seafood Festival!!

 Please Call 503-791-1907 to reserve your order!

 Crab at Northwest Wild Products



We are one of the few Seafood Markets on the Coast with a Live Crab tank. We have live, cooked and crab meat for sale in our retail store at least 350 days a year. We will always have local Dungeness crab freshly cooked and live from December to September. In the off season we get our crab from Northern Washington and 1 or 2 batches a year from British Columbia.

Crab prices are $4.99 to $8.99lb for live crab depending on the market. Whole cooked are generally $1.50 per lb more because of weight loss during cooking. Crab meat, about 1/2 leg and 1/2 body meat, is $25 to $29 per lb.

Open 10-6pm  7 Days a Week

(More Shipping Info Below)

NW Wild Products is located at the Port of Astoria West Mooring Basin - One Block Southwest of the Cannery Pier Hotel.



Shipping Dungeness Crab

Cooked Dungeness Crab can be shipped any- where in the country. Crab are cooked, backed and then slighty frozen. Styrofoam boxes and gel packs are used to keep the crab cold for 2 days while in transit. We use USPS Express, which takes 1-2 days to arrive at your front door.

 WHY NO ONLINE SHOPPING CART?

Reasonable prices are very important to us. In order to offer an online shopping cart service we would need to estimate the market price of seafood, shipping cost to individual cities, size of box needed, exact weight of product etc. These estimations would mean that many customers would be paying a lot more than they need to for their products. At Northwest Wild Products we treat each order individually. Our customers pay the same price they would pay if they came into our market to shop. Postage and shipping supplies are at our exact cost, with only a $5 additional handling charge for driving to the post office. So give us a call and our friendly staff will put together your order, and have it shipped in the most efficient way possible.