Not easily beatable, the ending 2024-25 Pacific Northwest commercial Dungeness crab season has brought Washington state some $88 million in ex-vessel value.

By September 21, 2025, commercial landings had amounted to 12.1 million pounds, alongside over 4 million pounds from tribal fisheries. 

This lowest catch volume since 2021 nevertheless brought the penultimate highest landing value ever after 2021-2022’s $88 million.

Although the 2024 run had higher hauls at 17 million pounds, its catch value at $66 million was comparably lower than 2025’s.

2025 cherished high unit values, beginning with the season’s opener of $5.75 a pound,  helping reap impressive turnover from low volumes.

The late seasonal beginning in mid-January 2025 due to whale entanglement rules initially dragged catch rates until a month on.

Indeed, commercial fishers hauled 5 million pounds in February alone, the highest for the season so far. 

54% of the landings were concentrated in just Catch Area 60A-2 that stretches from Columbia River through Westport. 

And even though by September monthly landings had plummeted to 9,000 pounds, they were still lucrative due to elevating crabmeat prices.

Crabmeat wholesale rates in the U.S. were up week 39 from concerns of a looming ban for imported swimming crab. 

The Washington commercial Dungeness crab season runs till September after which follows the October 1-December 31 winter crabbing. As the following statistics indicate, both seasons help elevate landings and earnings for the Northwest state.

Washington Dungeness Crab Season Statistics 

Washington is one of the tri-state capitals of Dungeness crabs in continental United States, the others being California and Oregon. Together with Alaska, the tri-states land 108 million pounds of the species each year, per Tradex Foods. The Washington government has been tracking landings data since 1950. And according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), landings increased steadily from the 1990s through the early 2020s. Its data shows that the catches peaked historically in the 2022-23 season at 28.7 million pounds.   

Which are the most financially successful Dungeness seasons in Washington?

The 2021-22 season had a landing value of $88.2 million, the best ever up to 2025. Runner-up seasons include 2023-24 with $66.8 million and 2024-25 with $83.1 million.

How much is the crab ex-vessel unit value in Washington? 

Crab landing prices from crabbers to processors or wholesalers in Washington average between $3.04 and 5.70 a pound (2023-24). Comparably, the opening rate in the 2024-25 season was at $5.75/pound, a little higher than the above range. 

Which fishery in WA lands most Dungeness crabs?

Based on WDFW’s data for the 2023-24 season, areas 60A-2 and 60A-1 near Columbia River lead statewide landings. Area 60A-2 hauled 10,466,305 pounds of crabs or over 50% of the statewide total, while 60A-1 managed 2,147,061 pounds. The other five areas, namely 59A-1, 59A-2, 60B, 60C and 61 all averaged hundreds of thousands of pounds.