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Dungeness Crab

Oregon State Crustacean

Dungeness Crab Oregon's official crustacean symbol. Photo by Colleen Proppe / Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution).

Official State Crustacean of Oregon

Oregon designated the Dungeness crab (cancer magister) as the official state crustacean in 2009, the result of petitioning by the 4th grade class of Sunset Primary School in West Linn, Oregon. All Aquatic Life Symbols

Only a few states have adopted an official crustacean symbol; Lousiana and Missouri (crawfish), Alabama and Texas (shrimp), Maine (lobster), and Maryland (Maryland blue crab). 

House Joint Resolution 37 Oregon Laws 2009

WHEREAS the Dungeness crab fishery is the most valuable single-species fishery in Oregon, making Dungeness crab an important part of Oregon’s economy; and

WHEREAS the Dungeness crab is an iconic Oregon symbol; and

WHEREAS the Dungeness crab is the most delicious of the crab species; and

WHEREAS the Dungeness crab annual harvest begins each year on December 1, when Dungeness crabs are hard-shelled, full of meat and in their prime; and

WHEREAS the Dungeness crab harvest ends on August 14 to minimize handling, so that post-molt, soft-shelled crabs can fill out undisturbed; and

WHEREAS this management method has served the resource well for decades and ensures that the Dungeness crab fishery is truly sustainable; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:

That the Dungeness crab is the official crustacean of the State of Oregon.

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 19, 2009