Interest in the delicate meat of California’s Dungeness crabs is high, especially now for New Year’s Eve, but fish markets have been kept waiting for local supplies of the delectable crustacean.
Restrictions on when the California Dungeness crab fishery can operate were put in place four years ago in response to the number of whales being entangled in the lines and, while it has delayed the started in the years since, this year and last year will have seen the shortest and most limited seasons.
Before the restrictions, the crab fishing season off California started before Thanksgiving, in plenty of time for holiday tables. In recent years, fishermen’s ability to drop their gear has been pushed back because whales and turtles were still be spotted in their fishing zones. This season, fishermen can start dropping their crab pots on Jan. 5, and only in the two most northern California zones. In central and southern California no start date has been announced.
Officials with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations said the industry does its best to avoid whales and have accepted limiting the seasons, but notes that since the restrictions have been in place, the industry has dropped from 450 active vessels to fewer than 100 and has lost out on tens of millions of dollars.
And, Shala Mansur-O’Keefe, who operates Jon’s Fish Market in Dana Point Harbor, has had to find other sources to serve her customers.
Last year, she paid a premium to get Dungeness crabs flown from the Northwest, she said. With a mounting pile of orders this week, she said she planned to drive to Long Beach to buy live-cooked crabs caught off Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon. While they will still be tasty, they are not from California and Mansur-O’Keefe said she’s seen a pronounced increase in customers who want locally and responsibly caught seafood.
“There are packaged frozen ones from the Northwest, but most people want them to live and be local from…
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