Crabbers from Bodega Bay north through Oregon and Washington to the Canadian border went on strike Wednesday afternoon after wholesale Dungeness crab buyers sought to lower the per-pound price fishermen earn for the much sought-after crustacean.
Fishermen have agreed to either cease crabbing in areas off the Sonoma Coast where the Dungeness crab season has already opened, or delay the start of their season in hopes of retaining the $3-per-pound price they have earned fishing in Northern California’s rich waters so far this year, according to Lorne Edwards, president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, an industry trade group.
Fishermen from Bodega Bay north agreed to the strike Wednesday at 2 p.m. Wholesale buyers are offering $2.75 per pound, Edwards said.
“There’s going to be no crabbing from any port from Bodega Bay to the Washington-Canada border,” Edwards said. “It’s huge … I’m not expecting a change until after New Year’s.”
