The annual sport Dungeness crab season opener for the Oak Harbor area known as 8-1, has been established as 4 July 2007. That’s about the same time it opened last year, so hopefully we can expect the same success experienced last year.

However, Monday morning, June 11, exposed a totally different picture. Looking out over the area from Oak Harbor to Ponnel Point I counted over 40 boats loaded with crab pots. Before long the strings of buoys almost covered the area. I called the Fish and Wildlife La Conner office and was informed that the tribes have been authorized to commercially crab from June 11 to June 21 in Area 8-1 and that the tribes are allowed allow 100 pots per boat. I was also informed that the area will then be open to commercial white crabbers June 22 through the 23 for a total of 36 hours. Any chance of our catching a legal Dungeness crab when it opens July 4 will be pretty remote.

Dick Hopper

Oak Harbor