Tag Archives: commercial crab season
California – Crabbers likely to use new gear next season
Typically, the Commercial crab season starts Nov. 15, but the 2023-24 season was delayed for a fifth year in a row and eventually postponed to start in January 2024. The short season could spell change to come for fishermen since Salmon season might be on the chopping block next. David Lowe, a captain of the Jacqueline L. fishing vessel in Pillar Point Harbor, said it wasn’t the best season but his team will be experimenting with netless pop-up gear for the next season. “There’s 14 boats here that are [experimenting with pop-up gear],” said Lowe. “They’re going to see how it goes this year, because of all the whale and turtle entanglements.” more, >>click to read<< 10:49
Where will the whales be? Ask the climate model
Fishers Richard Ogg and Dan Kammerer catch Dungeness crab in waters off Bodega Bay, Calif.
In a new study, scientists say they can now use global temperature models, commonly used in climate science, to predict up to a year in advance when hot ocean temperatures will raise the risk of whale entanglements. This lead time could allow state regulators, fishers and other businesses that depend on the fishery, as well as Californians hoping for a Dungeness crab holiday meal, to plan ahead for potential fishing restrictions. Ecological forecasts could help New England and maritime Canada, where highly endangered right whales are also getting entangled in fishing gear. “My personal opinion is that this is very, very helpful,” said Richard Ogg, a commercial fishing boat captain based in Bodega Bay. more, >>click to read<< 11:57
California crab season finally opens but storm keeps fisherman in port
Commercial crab season opened in California on Saturday, but in Monterey, fishermen were keeping their vessels in port because of the storm. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” said Gaspar Catanzaro with Monterey Fish Co. The commercial season opener has been delayed three times this year but officially opened at midnight on New Year’s Eve. The opening coincided with a winter storm bringing rain and high winds to the coast. To meet the holiday demand for crab, Monterey Fish Co. has been bringing in crab from Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Video, >click to read< 10:04
Oregon: Crab season to begin December 1st without delay for first time in six years
For the first time in six years, Oregon’s commercial crab season is set to begin without delay following low domoic acid and high meat yield indicated by tests conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife earlier in the month. Commercial crab vessels and their crews can begin setting their gear as soon as this Sunday, Nov. 28, for the pre-soak period, after which they’ll be able to pull in their first hauls of the season on Dec. 1, assuming weather holds clear and a price arrangement between the fishing fleet and Oregon seafood processors is reached. >click to read< 10:05
Commercial Crab Season: Boats out, baskets ready
For the first time since the 2014-15 season, the ocean commercial Dungeness crab fishery opens as scheduled Dec. 1 along the Oregon Coast. Commercial crab vessels were able to set gear Nov. 28. the pre soak period, in anticipation of the first pull of ocean crab pots on Dec. 1. In partnership with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission and the commercial Dungeness crab industry, ODFW tests crabs out of Oregon’s six major crabbing ports beginning in early November. This year, crab tested from Oregon’s crab harvest areas have high meat yield and are well below domoic acid alert levels. >click to read<12:16
Commercial crab season delayed again but set to start Dec. 1 north of Sonoma County
It’s a bitter pill for those who own smaller fishing boats and those for whom the trek north would not pay off, however. They’ve already missed the lucrative Thanksgiving market due to the initial delay of the Central Coast’s usual Nov. 15 commercial start. “The little guys are suffering big time,” said veteran Bodega Bay fishermen Tony Anello, who said he knows three young, newer additions to the fleet who “have no way of making it right now.” In the meantime, ‘We’ve got to find a way for this Nov. 15 date to occur, for us to fish with these animals,” said Dick Ogg, vice president of the Bodega Bay Fishermens Marketing Association. >click to read< 07:41
Half Moon Bay: Commercial crab fishing set to start Monday
Commercial crab fishing season will start Monday, Jan. 11, in the Half Moon Bay area after local fishermen reached an agreement with seafood companies,,, The agreement means local Half Moon Bay fisherman will sell fresh crab on Johnson Pier at Pillar Point Harbor as early as Friday, Jan. 15. Local stores could see fresh crab arrive that weekend, according to Half Moon Bay fisherman Frank Souza. “We’re excited to get it started and stop all the phone calls and the stuff we are not good at,” Souza said. Fishing associations representing San Francisco, Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay have reached a gentlemen’s agreement not to start setting down nets and gear in fishing waters until 8 a.m. Monday,, >click to read< 08:48
California Crab Fishermen Reduce Asking Price To $3.10; Representative for Processors Says COVID-19 Effects On Dungeness Market Continue – >click to read<
Crab fishing is delayed over price negotiations; no one wants under $3 a pound, will not go
Disputes between Bay Area fishermen and seafood company Pacific Seafood Group over crab prices are causing more delays to the start of the commercial crab fishing season. California allowed commercial crab season to begin Dec. 23 after a month delay over environmental concerns to whales and other marine animals. However, the fleets in Half Moon Bay and the entire Bay Area remain at an impasse,,, Fishermen want at least $3 a pound for crab, while Pacific Seafood Group is only offering $2.25 a pound. Until an agreement is reached, commercial fishermen from the Bay Area will not go out to fish. >click to read< 08:59
Coronavirus: Observer plans modified for commercial crab season
Observer deployment plans for the upcoming commercial crab season have been modified by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in order to reduce risks of exposure to the COVID-19 virus, while still meeting minimum stock assessment data needs. ADF&G officials said that to accommodate revised deployment strategies, all vessels initially placed on the alternate selection list should be advised that they have a higher likelihood of being selected to carry an observer. Additional details on final observer deployment plans are to be provided by ADF&G,,, >click to read< 07:39
Commercial crab season north of Klipsan Beach opens Saturday
The 2020 commercial Dungeness crab fishery north of Klipsan Beach will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The commercial fleet in Westport was loaded and ready Monday for the 73-hour gear pre-set period that begins today at 8 a.m. >click to read< 07:46
Commercial Crab season to start at $3 per pound
Commercial crab fishing season begins overnight into Tuesday with a $3-per-pound market price, roughly the same as the going rate in the Bay Area. The season’s start was delayed by a gap in meatiness (crab meat levels need to be at a certain level for fishing to begin) and lengthy negotiations over an official market price.,, As they have done ahead of past seasons, some crab fishermen worried about where price negotiations would wind up. Historically, crabbers have even gone on strike over market price disagreements. , >click to read< 08:34
Commercial crab season to open Monday but local crabbers want another test done
Following several delays, the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season for Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties is opening Jan. 15, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.,,, Trinidad commercial crabber Craig Goucher said there are currently no plans to set gear Jan. 12. Instead, he said, local crabbers plan to wait until Jan. 15 to drop gear. “We’re going to set some test gear out and get it processed and determine what the pick out is,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We can legally get that sample on the 15th.” >click here to read< 09:34
Negotiations could further delay crab catch – Columbia crab fishermen can start placing their pots in the ocean Friday morning, but first they have to settle on a price with processors. >click here to read< 10:17
Oregon: Entire coast open to commercial crabbing on Jan. 1
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Agriculture announce the opening of the commercial crab season from Cape Blanco (just north of Port Orford) to the Oregon/Washington border starting Jan. 1. Fishery managers and food safety specialists consistently exercised caution in opening the crab season this year due to elevated levels of domoic acid found in crabs along Oregon’s central coast. The almost month-long delay in opening the season allowed for additional testing for domoic acid to provide confidence that crab harvested from Oregon waters are safe to consume and of excellent quality. Testing of crab in recent weeks show the elevated levels of domoic acid in the central section of the state have decreased and are all below U.S. Food and Drug Administration alert levels for at least two sample periods in a row. Read the story here From Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife click here 08:52Commercial crab season opens with regs to protect whales
As commercial fishermen set their traps in preparation for the Dungeness crab season, both fishermen and environmentalists hope that new regulations will protect whales from being snared. To protect the whales, the CDCWE working group met last month and created a “Best Practices” guide for crab fishermen. The guide suggests specific distances between the main and leader buoys and recommends that fishermen keep their gear well maintained so it won’t break apart and float away. This group is composed of commercial and recreational crab fishermen, environmentalists, members from the whale disentanglement network, and state and federal agency employees. “The crab fishermen have been very active in participating in the dialogue on ways to reduce whale entanglements,” said Moss Landing Harbor Master Linda McIntyre. “They are as anxious and committed to deterring these occurrences as anyone.” Read the story here 10:18
Humboldt commercial crab season to open, but with an exception
Press release from Department of Fish and Wildlife: Except for one area within Humboldt County, the California coast is open for recreational Dungeness crab fishing. The commercial crab fishery will follow in the same areas, opening May 12. The recreational Dungeness crab fishery is open north of 41° 17.6’ N latitude at the southern boundary line of Reading Rock State Marine Conservation Area (near Redwood Creek), Humboldt County to the California/Oregon border, however the recreational fishery remains closed between 40° 46.15’ N latitude (a line extending due west from the west end of the north jetty at the entrance of Humboldt Bay) and 41° 17.6’ N latitude. Read the rest here 21:28
Locally caught Dungeness crab on sale, offering Bay Area fishermen some relief
Last week’s opening of the put fresh, local Dungeness in stores once again and got lots of Bay Area commercial fishermen back out on the ocean. Neither circumstance is expected to last much longer than a few more weeks, with winter long gone and the crab catch thus far below what it typically would be at the start of the season, according to industry veterans. “We’re not setting the world on fire,” fourth-generation fisherman Tony Anello said, “but we’re doing OK.” Read the article here 10:41
Oregon’s commercial crab season beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Oregon’s commercial crab season had been delayed until Dec. 16 because test catches from ports on the Northern Oregon Coast did not show the required amount of meat in them. The season can begin as early as Dec. 1 in Oregon, but can be delayed. Northern California fishermen could have started fishing as soon as Dec. 1, but delayed in order to try to get a higher price from buyers. more@currypilot 20:47
