New Law May Help S.F. Bay Area Crab Fishermen

The price strike by Bay Area crab fishermen against seafood distributors broke this season along a historic fracture: the competing interests of local fishermen and larger boats from Northern California, Oregon and Washington that swoop to our coast and scoop up Dungeness crab every year.

While most fishermen from Bodega Bay, San Francisco and Half Moon Bay were prepared to hold out for their asking price of $2.50 a pound, locals say, a small group of fishermen, many of them from out of state, decided $2.25 was good enough. They headed out Nov. 28 to soak their traps, abruptly ending a two-week standoff and touching off a mad dash to sea.

It was yet another frustrating episode for crab fishermen from Mendocino to Monterey, who face unrelenting pressure from northern competitors who descend on the area when the local season opens Nov. 15 and then land more crab during the northern Pacific Coast's season, which typically begins Dec. 1.

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