Tag Archives: fauna

Identifying Oregon’s Crabs

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Crabbing on the Oregon coast? There’s a good chance that you’ll catch a Dungeness or a Red rock crab, two of the most commonly caught crab species.

In 2016, the Dungeness crab was the highest valued fishery in Oregon’s commercial fishing industry at $51.3 million. Red rock crabs are also commercially harvested but are not valued nearly as much in comparison to the larger Dungeness.

Identification

Dungeness and red rock crabs vary in their size, color, habitat, and behavior.

Dungeness crabs are best identified by looking for their large, white-tipped claws, ten carapace (the hard upper shell) spines, and a red-brown to purple coloration. They can grow to be eight-inches across their backs (or carapace).

Red rock crabs have black-tipped claws, a wide fan-shaped carapace, and are usually a dark red color. They are also a bit smaller than Dungeness crabs, usually measuring in at six inches across the upper shell.

Where Found

Dungeness crabs prefer the sandy and muddy areas of shallow lower estuaries. Even so, they are sometimes found in ocean depths of up to 2,000 feet. Red rock crabs tend to live in rockier habitats with higher salinity rates such as a larger estuary.

Next time you are out crabbing, keep an eye out for these two common crabs and make sure to follow harvesting regulations!

Photos:

http://www.farm-2-market.com/live-dungeness-crabs/

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/about_red_rock.asp

Info:

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/economic_impact.asp

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cancer_antennarius/

https://myodfw.com/articles/how-crab

Whale Watching in Depoe Bay, Oregon

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In early August 2018, I was lucky to have a friend take me whale watching with a chartered whale watching company in Depoe Bay, the whale-watching hub on the Oregon coast. We left from the docks on a zodiac with the owner of the business as our captain. The zodiac is a good boat to whale watch from because it’s fairly quiet and it’s easier to get closer to the whales without disturbing them.

We saw a spout pretty early on, so we waited to watch the whale. Our guide was able to tell us that this particular whale is part of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, a pod of gray whales that does not migrate because of the abundance of food on the Oregon coast. He was also able to name a couple of the other whales we say because of his ability to identify them based on their tail markings. The guide had a small vial of krill to show us what the whales were feeding on, and he provided us with some information about the species and other marine animals.

Our guide did an excellent job of driving out to the right spot to see as many whales as possible. At one point, the zodiac was surrounded by six or seven different whales. Overall, the guide was an excellent captain and provided us with answers to our questions, careful not to bombard us with information as we carefully watched for spouts.

Whale Watching Week

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Gray Whale

People come from all over the world to learn about the gray whales that travel along the Oregon coast. This year the spring Whale Watching Week takes place March 25, 2017-April 1, 2017. During this time “Whale Watching Spoken Here” volunteers are stationed at great whale watching sites up and down the coast to provide assistance in spotting whales from shore. You may also want to get out on the water with one of the Charter Boats offereing Whale Watching Tours! 

Whales are visible from Oregon’s shores all year long although some months are better than others. In the winter we watch nearly 20,000 gray whales from mid-December through mid-January as they travel south to the warm lagoons of Baja, Mexico. Spring watching begins in late March as the gray whales travel north on their way to Alaska. The first surge swims by around the end of March and we watch the north-bound whales all the way until June.

Check out this map for a list of 24 designated locations volunteers will be staffed during the upcoming Whale Watching Week, including the location nearest you.