The great Northern California Dungeness crab drought is about to end. Crab boat skippers and wholesalers agreed on a price Tuesday to end an 11-day strike.
Crab fishing boats were scheduled to sail out of three ports - Bodega Bay, San Francisco and Half Moon Bay - before dawn Wednesday to the crab grounds in the Gulf of the Farallones.
"We're happy," said Larry Collins, president of the Crab Boat Owners Association. "We got $3 a pound, the price we wanted. We're ready to go."
The dispute began on Dec. 2 when fishing boat skippers began hearing that wholesalers, who had a glut of fresh crab, were cutting the price they had offered fishermen.
The crab boats had been offered $3 a pound when the season started in November, but now word went out around the docks that the new price would be only $2.75 a pound, tops. Others in the fishing industry heard that Oregon-based boats selling crab in Northern California were getting only $2.25 a pound.
Read the full story at the San Francisco Chronicle>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
The United Fishermen of Alaska, a statewide commercial fishing industry trade association representing 36 member organizations, announces the election of Jerry McCune of Cordova District Fishermen United as president.
NMFS has announced two senior leadership changes that the agency says align with changes it is making to its West Coast operations.
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