Rogue River / Bay

Family clamming at Tillamook Bay. Photo by Leigh Darrah Crabbing and Clamming October 15, 2026 Announcements Always check for closures at the ODA Shellfish Safety page before harvesting shellfish, which includes clams, crabs and mussels. Reminder Ocean waters are closed for crabbing Oct 16 – Nov 30. Bays, beaches, estuaries, tide pools, piers and jetties are open for crabbing all year unless closed for toxins. Check ODA Shellfish Safety page before harvesting. Advisory ODFW has issued a bay clam harvest advisory for Alsea Bay estuary. Read the news release for more information. Prohibited line markings in effect Recreational crabbers are not required to mark their line but are prohibited from using certain line markings that are required in other fisheries. To read more about why and what is prohibited, visit our Marine Life Entanglement page . Bay clams Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or visit the ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting, for the most current information about shellfish safety closures. During fall and winter, negative low tides suitable for clamming occur in the evenings. Clammers should be mindful of safety while clamming in the dark. Safety measures include not clamming in unfamiliar areas, bringing a reliable light source and avoiding clamming alone. Check out the Where to Clam articles for places to find bay clams. You can also get more clamming maps here . Beaver State Podcast: Bay clamming with Mitch Vance Learn about different clams and some of the challenges to be ready for when you clam. Mussels Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or check the ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting for the most current information about shellfish safety closures. Mussels, like clams, are filter feeders and those who like eating clams are likely to find mussels just as delicious. Mussels attach to rocks and other permanent habitats in the intertidal zone, so it is best to go looking for them during a low tide. When harvesting, wear gloves and use a twisting motion to pull mussels off rocks. Be careful when harvesting by the ocean and watch for sneaker waves. Each harvester will need a shellfish license and their own bucket. Learn more here . Razor clams Currently the entire Oregon coast is closed from the Washington border to the California border. See ODA (above) for more information. Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or check the ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting for the most current information about shellfish safety closures. Crabs Reminder: Ocean waters are closed for crabbing Oct 16 – Nov 30. Bays, beaches, estuaries, tide pools, piers and jetties are open for crabbing all year unless closed for toxins or the areas is closed by permanent rule. Check ODA Shellfish Safety page before harvesting. Port by port reports: All ports are seeing some soft, recently molted, male crab that should be filling with meat and hardening their shells as we enter fall. With the changing weather, lots of rain will cause a surge of fresh water from the rivers, forcing crabs to retreat to the saltier water of the ocean, meaning bay crabbing may not be as successful at times. Tillamook: Crabbing has been slow from a boat and slow from the dock. Netarts: Crabbing has been fair from a boat and fair from the dock. Newport: Crabbing has been fair from a boat and good for red rock crab from the dock. Waldport: Crabbing has been fair from a boat and fair from the dock. Charleston : Crabbing has been slow from a boat and fair from the dock. Shore and dock crabbing can be a great year-round activity. A good tool to try is the "castable folding crab trap." Usually attached to a fishing pole, these traps are great for kids because they are lightweight and can catch crab within minutes. No heavy pulling or long wait times! They are available for purchase at most local stores. Happy crabbing! Some crabbers in estuaries may also encounter non-native European green crab in their catch. While they look similar to Oregon's native shore crabs, identify them by the three prominent bumps between the eyes and five spines down each side of their body (carapace). Color is not a good identifying feature as they are not always green. The daily catch limit for European green crab is 35 per person per day. European green crab can be any size or sex. Learn more about this species . Want to know more about the invasive green crab and how you can help? Check out Invasive European green crabs threaten Northwest shellfish industries produced by the Oregon Field Guide on PBS. <div class="field

The sport harvest of mussels is OPEN from the Washington border to the California border.

The sport harvest of razor clams is CLOSED from the Washington border to the California border for high levels of the marine biotoxin domoic acid. See the link below for biotoxin results data for mussels and clams. Re-opening beaches for sport harvest after a biotoxin closure requires two samples in a row with toxin results below the closure limit. These samples must be at least one week apart.

Southwest Zone — Chetco River, Pistol River, and Winchuck River. In the Chetco River From the mouth to Nook Creek, Pistol River from the mouth to Deep Creek, and Winchuck River from the mouth to Wheeler Creek Effective September 1 through December 31, 2026: The daily adult wild Chinook salmon bag limit is one fish; and No more than five adult wild Chinook salmon may be retained for the period. ‌‌ For more information contact your local ODFW office: Central Point, Rogue Watershed District (541) 826-8774 Charleston Field Office (541) 888-5515 Roseburg Umpqua Watershed District Office (541) 440-3353 Gold Beach Field Office (541) 247-7605 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The sport harvest of bay clams is OPEN along the entire Oregon Coast from the Washington border to the California border.

Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program 2040 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365 (541) 867-4741 FAX (541) 867-0311 www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/ December 5, 2025 In consultation with the crab industry, Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and California and Washington fishery managers, based on meat recovery and domoic acid results from preseason testing, ODFW is opening the Oregon ocean commercial Dungeness crab season as follows: Cape Falcon (45° 46’ 00” N. Lat.) southward to Oregon/California border (42° 00’ 00” N. Lat.) 73 hr presoak begins (setting gear): December 13, 8:00 a.m. Hold Inspections: December 15, see schedule on back Start date (pulling gear): December 16, 9:00 a.m. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery will remain closed in the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River from Cape Falcon northward to the Oregon/Washington border. The continued delay in this area will allow completion of additional testing for meat recovery in the Long Beach, WA area that did not meet recovery criteria. Fair start provision reminders: Fair start provisions will be in place for any delayed areas in the Tri-State area (from Klipsan Beach, WA south to Point Arena, CA). A vessel used for fishing crab in any open zone within these areas may not be used for fishing crab in any other zone within the Tri- State area that opens at a later date until 30 days after the later opening date. Vessel Hold Inspections reminders: Vessels must obtain a hold inspection prior to participating in the fishery for the first 30 days after opening. The vessel operator or owner must declare on the pre-season hold inspection certificate the zone in which the vessel will start fishing. Each inspection certificate must be signed by the vessel operator or owner, not by a crewman. Closed area transit reminders: Vessels with an activated Vessel Monitoring System or Electronic Monitoring system and registered with ODFW may possess and land Dungeness crab in an area that is otherwise closed to take of Dungeness crab for commercial purposes under certain conditions. Review the full requirements and register for closed area transit here. We would like to thank everyone involved with preseason meat recovery and domoic acid testing efforts this year to help us ensure that Oregon Dungeness crab are of excellent quality and ready for harvest. Please contact us if you have any questions. Troy Buell Justin Ainsworth State Fishery Manager Marine Resources Program Manager 541-961-8135 541-609-1134 OregonTina Kotek, Governor Page 2 of 2 2025-26 Commercial Dungeness Crab Cape Falcon (45º 46' 00" N. Lat.) to OR/CA border Season Opening Schedule 73 hr presoak begins (setting gear): December 13, 8:00AM Hold Inspections: December 15, see schedule below Start date (pulling gear): December 16, 9:00AM Hold Inspection Schedule After hours or for other locations: (800) 452-7888 or *OSP from a cellphone After-hours appointments may be limited and could be delayed based on availability. LOCATION TIME Columbia River Deep Sea Basin Hammond Boat Basin Warrenton Boat Basin Astoria West End/Pier 2 12-1 PM Garibaldi Boat Basin 12-2 PM Pacific City By appointment Depoe Bay By appointment Newport South Beach Marina Seafood Proc. Docks- Bay Blvd. Port Dock 3, 5 & 7 12-4 PM Florence By appointment Winchester Bay Boat Basin 12-1 PM Charleston Small Boat Basin Charleston Boat Basin Hallmark Fisheries 12-4 PM Bandon By appointment Port Orford 12-2:30 PM Brookings Boat Basin Port Docks 12-4 PM

Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program 2040 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365 (541) 867-4741 FAX (541) 867-0311 www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/ November 21, 2025 Oregon Ocean Commercial Dungeness Crab Permit Holders and Interested Persons, In partnership with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission (ODCC), Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the commercial crabbing industry, the first round of Oregon preseason Dungeness crab quality and domoic acid testing was conducted coastwide during November 8-9 and results are posted here. The minimum meat recovery rates to be met in each test area are 23% north of Cascade Head and 24% south of Cascade Head (no rounding allowed in any area). In round 1, all Oregon meat recovery areas met meat recovery criteria, but the area off Long Beach, Washington, did not. Domoic acid results from crab collected in all 12 crab harvest areas are posted on ODA’s website here. There are no elevated crab viscera results at this time. Based on these results and consultations with industry advisors, ODA, and Washington and California Departments of Fish and Wildlife, there was Tri-State agreement to delay the ocean commercial Dungeness crab season in Oregon until at least December 16. This delay will allow completion of additional meat recovery testing off Washington and avoid disrupting traditional fishing patterns. If Long Beach meets criteria on the next round of testing, the Oregon fishery will open December 16. If not, we will reinitiate consultations to decide on a season opening structure, with announcement targeted for December 7. We thank everyone involved with testing this preseason and appreciate upcoming testing efforts to help us ensure that Oregon Dungeness crab are of excellent quality and safe to consume. Please contact us if you have any questions. Troy Buell Justin Ainsworth State Fishery Manager Marine Resources Program Manager 541-961-8135 541-609-1134 OregonTina Kotek, Governor