Murky outlook for the upcoming Dungeness crab season
The upcoming Dungeness crab season will likely be affected by harmful algal blooms that contaminate seafood with a potent biotoxin, but the impact on commercial fishing probably won’t be as severe as it was in 2015-16, when the season was disrupted by an unprecedented closure, experts said Wednesday. At a special hearing Wednesday in Sacramento, a leading researcher on algal blooms said ocean temperatures are down this year, but still warmer than normal, and blooms are developing off the Central Coast and in other locations. But right now he is not predicting widespread blooms that would cause a statewide shutdown, as was the case last season. The lousy crab season was bracketed by weak salmon seasons linked to the drought, which has degraded river conditions for young salmon making their way out to sea. “After having a poor salmon season, a poor crab season, now another poor salmon season, it’s definitely really hard on the guys,” said Jim Anderson, a fisherman based at Pillar Point Harbor in San Mateo County. Read the story here 08:19
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