Dungeness crab fishing industry adapts to climate shock event triplicate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from triplicate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dungeness crabs caught off California. California Department of Fish and Wildlife photo.
The California Dungeness crab fishery opened Dec. 23 after more than a month of delay, but no gear has been set and no crab have been offloaded as the fleet stays tied up, striking against low prices offered by seafood buyers. Holding out over a low price is nothing new for the San Francisco area fleet, but this strike covers most of the West Coast, from Newport, Ore., to all of California.
Dungeness crab fishermen out of Bodega Bay, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Monterey Bay have also agreed to something new an “organized start,” said John Barnett, commercial fisherman and president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. Once a price has been settled, or a northern port breaks and starts fishing, San Francisco Bay area crabbers will agree to a date to set gear and enact a 48-hour soak period to ensure all fishermen will have their gear set before starting to haul.