The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has officially commenced the state's coastal commercial Dungeness crab season, following detailed test fishing and data analysis. Commercial fishers cast their pots in the waters stretching from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula down to Cape Falcon in Oregon, as of January 15, 2025. The much-anticipated crabbing also includes the Columbia River and Willapa Bay regions, while the remaining portion of the season, from Klipsan Beach to the U.S.-Canada border and encompassing Grays Harbor, kicks off on February 11, as reported by the WDFW website.

The coordination for the season's launch is a tri-state affair, with Washington, Oregon, and California fisheries departments working together under an agreement from the 1990s that aims for cooperative management of the Dungeness crab fishery across the West Coast. The agreement outlines potential season openings as early as December 1, with actual dates hinging on the health and condition of the crabs, determined through careful test fishing. Biologists and scientific technicians from WDFW have boarded commercial vessels to collect and measure crabs, ensuring that they achieve a threshold of 23% meat recovery before officially declaring a season opener, which signifies the crabs' readiness for the market both in terms of quantity and quality.

According to a test fishing trip out of Westport, WDFW coastal shellfish technician Clayton Parson said, "Once you hit that 23% mark, the crabs are improving every day and are ready to be harvested." This benchmark is crucial considering the Dungeness crab's economic significance; for instance, the 2023–24 coastal commercial season brought in $66.8 million for the state, as per the WDFW Medium article. Testament to the industry's value is the record-setting $88.2 million from the 2021–22 season.

The Washington, Oregon, and California fishery departments cohesively conduct test fishing primarily between November and December, with additional tests in October and January if necessary. WDFW's focus during these tests is mainly on the Westport and Long Beach areas to decide upon the season starts for regions north and south of Klipsan Beach. A 23% meat recovery rate criterion is set for the area north of Cascade Head, near Lincoln City in Oregon, while a 24% threshold is required for areas extending from Cascade Head down to Point Arena in California. These standards cease test fishing within an area upon meeting the appropriate meat recovery threshold, with the three states proceeding to coordinate season openers for regions where this benchmark has been achieved.

The intricacies of test fishing are standardized among the states, maintaining consistent test areas and depths, reported in fathoms, each year. Pots used for both testing and commercial fishing are typically arranged in strings, which are series of pots lined in a straight path. "We set pots in three different sites for each testing area the day before the test fishing trip," Parson elaborated. Each site includes strings at various depths – 15, 30, and 45 fathoms – with six pots each, resulting in 54 pots to gather at each testing zone.

WDFW's commitment to understanding the Dungeness crab's life cycle and its response to climate change is evident as they hired a new climate and ecosystem research scientist to study how climate research might be leveraged to inform conservation and management. Matthew George, WDFW Coastal Shellfish Manager, noted that "Crabbing is difficult in the winter months, and we greatly value the time and effort test fishing vessels put in to open the season," underscoring the collaborative nature of the process and the WDFW's reliance on commercial fishers for successful test fishing, as mentioned during the WDFW Medium article.