Crab lovers were expecting California Dungeness to be crowding the seafood counters in local supermarkets since the commercial crab fishing season officially started on Sunday. But the fishermen were concerned that reports of poor quality crab would reduce the price, and asked a wholesaler to test the quality.
Michael Lucas, president North Coast Fisheries, checked a sampling of crustaceans caught in Bodega Bay, San Francisco Bay and Half Moon Bay. With the final results in, fishermen also dealing with tense price negotiations will begin the next stage of the commercial fishing season: actually fishing.
Monday’s test was the first official assessment conducted in the area this season, though there has been some unofficial “wildcat testing,” said Richard Hagel, a fisherman from Crescent City. Buyers had agreed to a wholesale price of $1.75 a pound on Saturday, but those unofficial tests prompted one commercial buyer to say if the quality was bad, he wouldn’t buy crabs at all.
Farther north, quality testing is common, because the crabs are slower to fill in with meat. Local crab fishermen are prevented from conducting pre-season testing, a regulation they would like to change. Crab testing isn’t usually necessary in the area between Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay, said Pete Kalvass, senior biologist for the Department of Fish and Game.
