Northern California Crab Fishermen Strike Over Dungeness Prices

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Crab fishing boats sat idle at Fisherman’s Wharf Thursday as crab boats in San Francisco, Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay stayed at the dock because of a threat to cut Dungeness prices.

Buyers wanted to lower their prices from $3 per pound to as low as $1.80 per pound because of a glut of Dungeness right after Thanksgiving that left a surplus in the big grocery stores.

Now the fresh supply is dwindling as the orders keep coming in.

KCBS’ Holly Quan Reports:

“We’re looking at it day by day, and making a judgment,” said Annette Traverso, a co-owner of Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, which like many fish brokers counts on a steady supply of Dungeness this time of year.

“We have orders all the way to New Year’s Eve,” she said.

Fisherman in Monterey Bay are still crabbing, and ports in Oregon and Washington are expected to open in mid-December.

Huge swells from the three storms last week, when the price was still high, kept crab fishermen on shore just two weeks after commercial season opened .

Last year, Fishermen didn’t sail until after Thanksgiving because of contentious negotiations over prices that were finally set at $2.25 per pound.

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