Tag Archives: Rick Shepherd
Fishermen Land $20 Million in Dungeness Crab in Crescent City, $51.1 million statewide
It’s not quite as high as the $40 million in crab the Crescent City Harbormaster reported Tuesday, but it’s a significant improvement from last year when local fishermen landed roughly $1.7 million worth of crab at Citizens Dock,,, Commercial fishermen statewide have landed $51.1 million worth of Dungeness crab as of Feb. 28, Juhasz said, though that is subject to change. Harbor Commissioner Rick Shepherd, who is also president of the Del Norte Commercial Fishermans Marketing Association, said the high price he and other fishermen are receiving for their catch is due to a high demand in crab. Shepherd said he did have concerns about crab caught in California but winds up being brought ashore in Brookings, Oregon. >click to read< 16:45
Quality Crab, High Price Make A Productive Opening to Del Norte’s Dungeness Fishery
Del Norte County crab fishermen say its first few days have been better than last year. After working a 2020-21 season with little to show for it, boats are actually bringing Dungeness crab to the Crescent City Harbor on time for the first time in seven years, Crescent Seafood and FV Rogue owner Kurt Hochberg told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Monday.. “It’s a big deal,” he said. “It’s a better season than last year and it’s just in time for the holidays, so it’s going very very well.” >click to read< 20:30
Del Norte County commercial fishermen will drop their pots Thursday
The first Dungeness crab of the season is expected to hit Citizens Dock on Saturday,,, Following a meeting Monday morning, fishermen in Oregon and California and wholesalers agreed on $2.75 per pound of Dungeness crab,,, Seafood processors, including Pacific Choice Seafood, Bornsteins Seafoods and Hallmark Fisheries had offered $2.50 per pound,,, The discussion Monday involved fishermen in Brookings, Crescent City, Trinidad, Eureka and Fort Bragg, Shepherd said. Fishermen agreed to set their pots starting at 8 a.m. Thursday for a 48-hour soak and bring their catch in on Saturday, he said. >click to read< 07:39
Rough Seas Delaying Crab Pot Deployment – A gale warning from the Eureka office of the National Weather Service, in effect now until 3 a.m. Wednesday from Point St. George to Cape Mendocino, states “strong winds will cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.” >click to read<
Five Days Into Commercial Dungeness Season, Seafood Buyers, Fishermen Haggle Over Price
Though California’s commercial Dungeness season opened five days ago, Crescent City’s commercial fleet has yet to drop pots as fishermen and buyers haggle over price. Fishermen are asking for $3.25 per pound while Pacific Choice Seafoods, of Eureka, is offering $2.50 per pound, Rick Shepherd, Crescent City Commercial Fisherman’s Association,,, “Pacific Choice has stayed on $2.50 and the boats in Oregon and California have not accepted that offer,” Shepherd said, adding that fishermen continue to negotiate with buyers. >click to read< 07:07
Commercial salmon season starts in Crescent City
Commercial salmon fishermen in Crescent City began their season on Saturday with a quota of 20 chinook per day and a monthly quota of 2,500, according to Crescent City Harbor Commissioner and Del Norte Fisherman’s Association president Rick Shepherd. The 20-fish-per-day quota and monthly quota of 2,500 applies to trawlers fishing between the Oregon border and the Humboldt South Jetty, said Shepherd, whose boat is one of roughly six in Crescent City that fish for chinook. The fleet is able to ply its trade on the ocean five days a week Friday through Tuesday. While a few fish have been brought into Eureka, so far no one has brought any salmon into the local harbor, Shepherd said. >click to read>07:50
Crescent City’s annual crab haul larger than average
Despite a late start to the season, commercial fishermen brought slightly more Dungeness crab to the Crescent City Harbor than in previous years, according to numbers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While this makes for increased revenue at the harbor, which collects 2 cents for every pound brought to its docks, Rick Shepherd, president of the Del Norte Fisherman’s Marketing Association, said commercial crabbers were paid less than last year. “I think one of the problems that I witnessed was there was a larger number of boats that participated here and so I think the actual amount of crab each boat caught was less,” he said. >click to read<09:39
California: Commercial crabbing on hold
Although they’re not calling it a strike, crabbers say they will hold off on fishing until next week so plants and the boats can “get cleaned up.” Randy Smith, owner of the fishing vessel Mistasea, said seafood buyers have begun offering $2.50 per pound of crab brought in, 25 cents less than what was being offered when crabbers began fishing on Feb. 5. But, Smith, who attended a meeting of the Del Norte Fisherman’s Marketing Association on Friday, said seafood buyers have told fishermen that they won’t take any more crab until Monday or Tuesday. “It’s kind of confusing whether they don’t want us fishing until then, but they didn’t want a big glut of crabs,” >click to read< 11:48
