Dungeness Crab Information

Dungeness crab is named after the town of Dungeness, Washington, where the first commercial harvesting of Cancer magister (its scientific name) was done. This crab is the main crab sold out of Washington and is also the first crustacean harvested for profit in the Pacific coast of the United States. These crabs can grow up to 10 inches across the back, though the average shell width is 7 to 8 inches. The Dungeness crab also features white-tipped claws and a brownish shell.

  1. Habitat and Predators

    • Dungeness crabs, though mainly harvested in Washington, can be found from the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska down to San Francisco. These crabs live in muddy to sandy bottoms, usually inhabiting eel-grass beds. They can live in low intertidal zones up to depths of more than 600 feet. In this area, Dungeness crabs are prey to fish such as dogfish, hake, halibut, ling cod, sculpins and wolf eel. It is also eaten by octopi, humans and other Dungeness crabs.

    Diet

    • The Dungeness crabs eat a range of sea creatures, from fish to clams, other crabs and starfish. They also eat worms, squid, snails and fish or crab eggs. As mentioned in the previous section, they are also cannibalistic.

    Mating

    • Dungeness crabs usually mate in May and June, though mating does occur throughout the year. Hard-shelled male crabs mate with newly molted soft-shelled female crabs, and the female stores the sperm in a receptacle until autumn when the eggs are fertilized. The fertilized eggs form a large mass, called a sponge, that is attached to the female crab. A female Dungeness crab can carry more than 2.5 million eggs. Females with sponges normally bury themselves in sandy, razor clam beaches in the fall until the eggs hatch.

    Hatching

    • The fertilized eggs develop during the winter and hatch between January and March. At this point, the baby Dungeness crabs can swim freely. During their first year, they molt repeatedly until they resemble adult Dungeness crabs. For the next two to three years, these juvenile crabs live in the sandy or muddy bottoms.

    Harvesting

    • Female Dungeness crabs are protected from legal harvesting and males must reach sexual maturity before they can be taken legally, ensuring that the Dungeness crab will not be eliminated by over-harvesting. There are numerous ways to catch Dungeness crabs. Some use crab pots while others use ring nets, long-handled dip nets (for use on boats), short-handled dip nets (for when wading) and a hook and line.