Traps for crab capture. (Photo: NOAA)
Dungeness crab season starts in California
UNITED STATES
Friday, November 17, 2017, 02:50 (GMT + 9)
California Department of Public Health authorised the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season statewide in California starting on November 15.
The news was welcomed by fishermen in the area, since for the first time in three years it is starting on time.
Nevertheless, local crabbers point out that even though the commercial fishing season started right on schedule, a weather system limited the number of trips smaller boats could take to bring back their first catch of the season, San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The fishery is worth in the ballpark of USD 60 million for the state — and it is also one of the most sustainable.
Seafood processor and distributors expect that after fishermen and buyers settled on a price of USD 3 a pound, and accounting for transportation, cooking and cleaning, they hope to see prices for cooked and cracked crab starting at USD 5.99 or USD 6.99 per pound, depending on availability.
On the other hand, Tom Dempsey, with the Nature Conservancy in California recognises that althouth the fishery has been well managed and sustainably managed, the industry is facing certain challenges, such as the increase in the observed entanglements with whales,explaining that whales can get caught in the ropes connecting crab pots to buoys floating on the surface.
The environmentalist stressed that prior to 2014, entanglements were rare: fewer than 10 per year. In 2016 there were 71.
The entanglements have prompted an environmental organization, the Center for Biological Diversity, to sue the state, claiming California is failing to protect whales.
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Photo Courtesy of FIS Member NOAA/NMFSborrar
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