Oregon’s Dungeness Crab season is underway. The fishery is the state’s most valuable and the crustacean is a popular item for holiday feasts.
Outside of Fisherman’s Market in Eugene on Wednesday, owner Ryan Rogers boiled crabs that arrived this week from the “Heidi Sue” out of Newport. He said he got more than 500 pounds of crab in this first batch. He said Oregonians love their Dungeness for good reason.
“People from Maryland love their crab. Alaska love their King Crab. And, Oregon is all about Dungeness. It’s the number one fishery in Oregon,” Rogers said. “It’s such a great unique item. It’s so sweet. I’ve eaten a lot of King Crab in my days, but I think Dungeness is the best.”
Rogers said the weather is stormy this week but he’s pretty sure they’ll have lots of crab available for the holidays.
“We like to think we’re the largest independent retailer of Dungeness in Oregon and that’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “We go great distances to get crab, especially for Christmas.”
Despite the weather. Rogers said his longtime connections help ensure they’ll be able to keep crab available.
“Luckily we have lots of friends in the industry," he said. "And guys are going to be holding live crab for us for Christmas.”
Fisherman’s Market uses a pickup truck powered by recycled vegetable oil from its fish and chips fryers to bring crab to the Eugene store from Newport.
