West Coast Crab Strike Set to Expand Further South
Crab fishermen from San Francisco and Half Moon Bay are set to join Humboldt Bay fishermen in a crab strike that has now spread from Bodega Bay to Westport, Washington. The strike is over a 25-cent price drop proposed by one of the largest seafood companies on the West Coast, Pacific Group, which owns Humboldt-based buyer Pacific Choice Seafood Inc. When the strike expands to Half Moon bay, it will account for approximately 824 miles of the West Coast and according to Ken Bates, vice president of the Humboldt Fisherman’s Marketing Association, could potentially tie up 400 to 500 boats. Bates said no action or progress was expected to take place over the New Year’s holiday — although the meeting is set for 11 a.m. Saturday — and that smaller fish companies are waiting to continue to buy crabs at $3 a pound, which has been the original negotiated price since November, but they are unwilling to risk buying crabs if Pacific Group, the company behind the price drop, is successful in lowering the price. Read the story here 13:06
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