Title: Dungeness Crab Information
Categories: Seafood Info
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Dungeness crabs are named after a fishing village on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington state, but are found in coastal waters from Baja California to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. They have been harvested for thousands of years, and were well established in Northwestern cuisine long before anyone had heard of king or snow crabs (the other important Northwestern food species.)

Dungeness crab landings fluctuate wildly up and down the Pacific coast every year, starting in California in the winter and ending in Alaska in the summer and fall. The crabs are captured in pots, then put in live-tanks and delivered to shoreside plants where they are cooked immediately or shipped live. They must measure a minimum of 6 1/4 inches across the carapace to be legally harvested and range in weight from 1 1/2 to 3 pounds. Dungeness crab prices are at their lowest in December and January.

Dungeness crabs can carry domoic acid in their viscera on rare occasions, and this can be harmful if eaten. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring water soluble amino acid produced by microscopic marine plants. When populations of the plants are high, as sometimes happens in Northwestern waters, the acid can accumulate in marine animals further up the food chain. When levels of domoic acid in a food animal such as a crab exceed 20 parts per million, poisoning can result. High domoic acid levels occur infrequently and poisoning is not a threat at all to people who eat only the crabmeat. The toxin accumulates only in the crab's viscera. This can be a problem for you if you like the crab's flavorful "butter". To be entirely safe, eat only the meat. If you can't give up the tasty butter, keep your eye open for warnings. Domoic acid levels are closely monitored by the FDA, and fishery restrictions and warnings are issued whenever levels approach the danger zone.

From Simply Seafood magazine, Winter 1996.

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