It could be another Thanksgiving in the Bay Area without Dungeness crab.
New state fishing rules kick in next month that could stall the Nov. 15 opening of Dungeness crab season yet again.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has published new rules that give the agency’s director the power to close or limit the commercial season if there is a risk that humpback whales, blue whales or leatherback sea turtles could get tangled in the nets.
Last year commercial crabbers voluntarily pushed the season back by a month to protect whales. Scientists say climate change is shifting migratory patterns, forcing whales and turtles closer to crab fishing grounds.
But this year, state regulators will make the call and that is not sitting well with some crabbers, who have endured setback after setback in recent years.
"We have men and women in this industry that need to make a living. We’ve already hit by COVID, we’ve been hit by the fire, we’ve been hit by domoic acid. We’re constantly hit,” said Angela Cincatta, who runs the Alioto-Lazio Fish company on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. “Mother Nature we can handle; we can bounce back. These other ones, I'm not sure."
If the season does not open in time, then crabbers will not be able to get their haul to the market in time for Thanksgiving. For the last several years, circumstances outside their control have made it difficult to give customers a reliable delivery date for holiday crab.
"They need to go out November 15th. They need to go fishing. They need to make money in order to survive, otherwise will they will die on the vine," said Cincatta. “Do you want to turn Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco into Monterey’s Cannery Row, that’s just a shopping mall?"
Survey planes will go up this week to monitor for nearby whale and turtle populations and the state could decide by next week if the season is going to be delayed. Recreational crab fishing is not impacted and should open Nov. 7.