Daily Archives: August 10, 2010

Bounty offered for returned crab tags

Posted on by

Dungeness crabNEWPORT – Oregon Sea Grant is asking crab fishermen to keep a watchful eye out for Dungeness crabs with tags on their legs – and to forward any tags they’ve collected to the program by Sept. 1.

The Oregon State University-based program, along with the Oregon Wave Energy Trust and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, have been conducting a study on the movement of Dungeness crabs along the Oregon Coast. Scientists tagged 3,000 legal sized male crabs in October and November of 2009. Tags were placed on the back right legs of legal sized male Dungeness crabs.

Dungeness crab fishermen from both the commercial and recreational fleets have been returning tags since December. More than 800 tags have already been returned, and the researchers are hoping to wrap up the study. Rewards of $20 for each tag will be given for all tags returned before September 1st, 2010. The project will also hold a drawing in early September for $1,000.

“If you have a tag, please return it as soon as possible to claim your reward,” said Kaety Hildenbrand, Oregon Sea Grant Extension agent in Newport, who is helping coordinate the tag collection.

To return a tag:

Remove the tag from the crab and write down:

  • Location, depth and date the crab was found
  • Tag number
  • Your name, address, phone number
  • Your signature

Mail this information and the tag to:

Oregon Dungeness Crab Study
29 SE 2nd Street
Newport, OR 97365

Glowing shrimp? Not to worry, say Sea Grant specialists

Posted on by

NEWPORT, Ore. – Some Oregonians who recently purchased pink shrimp at the coast or at large retail stores have called Oregon State University’s Lincoln County Extension Office over the past few days to report a rather unusual trait.

Their seafood was glowing in the dark.

What sounds other-worldly is actually surprisingly common, according to Kaety Hildenbrand, an OSU Sea Grant Extension specialist who works with coastal fishing communities. Marine bacteria can cause glowing or luminescence when they grow on seafood products – a trait that may be exacerbated by the adding of salt during processing.

The important thing to remember, she said, is that “glowing” seafood does not present a food safety problem, nor does it reflect mishandling during processing.

(Read more)

1998 US FDA report on glowing seafood