Finally, a bright spot of news in 2021: Fresh Dungeness crab will soon be available in Bay Area stores, and the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association President John Barnett said this year's catch could be especially tasty.
"I think it’s going to be an average season as far as quantity goes," said Barnett, on a call from his boat as it was heading under the Golden Gate Bridge. "As far as quality goes, the crabs are really full of meat. They're really heavy. They should be really good for the public."
After months of delays, the commercial Dungeness crab season opened Monday, and Barnett said the pots were dropped early this morning and will be pulled beginning Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Left, a San Francisco crab boat heads out into the Pacific Ocean on the opening day of the crab season on Jan. 11, 2021. Right, fishers catch crab off the coast of San Francisco.
Courtesy of John BarnettHe said there's indication the crab population is smaller than usual this year, and this means the crabs out there will be bigger than usual.
"It's cyclical, just as some years are bad mosquito years," he explained. "When there are less crabs, they tend to be fuller. The sport crabs that were caught when the season was already open, they tended to be heavy, good quality."
Catch will be available off boats in Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay late Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
"There’s a couple days delay before they're available in grocery stores," Barnett said. "But there are a few outfits like Water2Table that are specializing in deliveries and you may be able to get them earlier."
The commercial Dungeness crab fishery — stretching from the Mendocino Coast to the Mexico border — was originally scheduled to open Nov. 15 and was initially pushed back to lower the risk of whales becoming tangled in fishing gear, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"We broke the coast of California into fishing zones," said Ryan Bartling, a senior environmental scientist for Fish and Wildlife's Marine Region. "If there are 20 or more humpback whales in the fishing zone, we can delay the season."
The commercial season was also delayed for a month in 2019 to protect whales. Fish and Wildlife officials have convened a working group of fishers, environmental representatives and various government agencies to review scientific information and ways to minimize the risk of entanglement through the season.
Further delays came in December 2020 over a price dispute between crabbers and the wholesalers who buy their catch. The season was on track to open Dec. 23, but local fishers opted not to return to work because they said the prices wholesalers were offering barely covered their expenses.
Barnett said the fishers were asking for about $3.30 a pound while wholesalers offered closer to $2.25. The seafood delicacy retails for $7 to $20, the report said. The groups finally agreed upon $2.75 a pound, but Barnett said he thinks this will likely go up because of lower volume.
"The price may start climbing quickly so get it while you can," he said.
Barnett will be spending long hours on his boat in coming days, and it could be more than a week before he gets to eat his first crab.
"I had a sport crab earlier this year; it was really good," he said. "The stuff that I catch, it’ll probably be at least a week and a half before I eat one. You know how they say the shoemaker's kids go barefoot. I like it freshly cooked, boil it live, crack it up."
Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 to include an update on the crab season from San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association President John Barnett.
January 12, 2021 at 05:52AM
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'The crabs are really full of meat': SF's crab season opens with promise, says association head - SF Gate
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