CHARLESTON — Thad Potter doesn’t plan to lag behind his colleagues.

He and his son were working hard in their small, weather-beaten vessel, The Moon, under a blue sky earlier this week. They were making final preparations before commercial Dungeness crabbing kicks off Tuesday.

The duo were among other several fishermen tending to their boats in anticipation of the 9-month season. Crabbers started sailing out today to set pots to take advantage of the 64-hour “soak period,” which begins today.

If you’re not ready from the get-go, “You feel like you went to school without your pants on,” Potter mused.

 Last year’s season brought in $26 million. Fishermen are expected to haul in plump, healthy crab come Tuesday. Crab this season exceeded the minimum requirements used by the state to ensure the shellfish are meaty enough for consumption.

What’s unknown is the number of the crustaceans waiting to be harvested. Early indications hint at a bountiful season.

Crab populations are cyclical and respond to ocean conditions.

“It looks like we’re heading back up the cycle. How far? Who knows,” said Nick Furman, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, in an interview earlier this week.

There are 57 permits licensed to crab out of Charleston, but officials aren’t sure how many boats will actually go this year.

Crabbers and processors were still engaged in price negotiations when the Potters were readying their gear early in the week. Son, Jake Potter, estimated they’d strike a deal between $1.75 to $1.95 a pound — slightly higher than last year’s offer of $1.60, but still not great.

“That’s a little low,” Jake said.

His guess was just about on the money. The parties settled on $1.75 a pound, after more than a month of bartering, according to a press release from the state Department of Agriculture.

The settlement hinged on two big factors: The number of harvestable pounds and the desire among consumers for shellfish.

“If we look in the rearview mirror, demand has been strong,” Furman said.

But the down economy may have a negative effect on consumers’ appetites for luxury seafood.

Last year’s harvest landed 13 million pounds —  above-average, but nowhere near as robust as 2005’s take of nearly 34 million pounds.

The 2004-05 crab season holds the largest landing in the history of the Dungeness crab fishing, Furman said.

“We had no idea there was that much crab to harvest,” Furman said. “What that points to is healthy stocks and a sustainable fishery.”