Commercial crab season to start along California North Coast on New Year’s Eve
Bring out the bubbly. The Dungeness crab season is due to start at 12:01 a.m. New Years Eve, state wildlife officials announced Thursday.
After earlier delays kept the delicacy off tables through Thanksgiving and Christmas because of the presence of humpback whales in the same area as crabs, the state determined the fishermen may set their pots on Dec. 28 to prepare and begin to harvest the catch on Dec. 31.
Only half a boat’s capacity of pots may be set to reduce the risk of the equipment ensnaring the whales. The deal to start with fewer traps out was negotiated by the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, according to Director Charlton Bonham.
“The main thing is, we have the opportunity to show the department and environmentalists that we can fish around the animals with 50% of our gear and not impact them,” said Bodega Bay crab fisherman Dick Ogg, who is part of the working group..
The state will reassess the rules in mid-January.
California Fish and Wildlife Chief Scientist Ryan Bartling told the Business Journal, “We’re still seeing humpback whales, particularly off Point Reyes.” The whales receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
These restrictions by the state have been imposed in the last few years as the whales have feasted on an overabundance of anchovies, according to environmentalists.
“We’re seeing a lot of anchovies available for foraging, but they’re starting to break up,” Bartling added.
While whale and anchovy populations look plentiful, the abundance of crab remains a question mark. The year-to-year return of La Nina, a tropical weather phenomenon resulting in Pacific Ocean change that can affect wildlife, should result in an increase in herring, crab and salmon populations. But other unknown factors may have decreased the population of crab, Bartling pointed out.
“Cool water conditions typically work in their favor, but I hear they’re on a down cycle with fewer crab,” he said.
A resilient bunch
In an industry known to throw out many obstacles in seasons that appear shorter and shorter, crab fishermen have learned to adapt. Many have signed on to construction jobs to tie them over financially. Others are better at saving, according to those in the business for a long time, fishermen say.
“It’s getting harder and harder to make a living. And there hasn’t been a whole lot of demand — probably due to inflation, and it’s not a staple. We’ve had lots of problems,” said Ben Platt, who manages the California Crab Fishermens Association out of Crescent City. “The crab market outlook doesn’t look good.”
Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, tech, energy, transportation, agriculture as well as banking and finance. For 27 years, Susan has worked for a variety of publications including the North County Times, Tahoe Daily Tribune and Lake Tahoe News. Reach Wood at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com.
