Calif. Crab Industry Disaster: Gov. Brown Asks for Federal Help

Crab pots sit on the shore of Half Moon Bay, Calif. Photo by Patch Editor Bea Karnes.

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HALF MOON BAY, CA- As it remains uncertain whether this winter’s Dungeness crab season will ever open for most of California, Gov. Jerry Brown this week asked the federal government to declare a commercial fisheries disaster.

Brown sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker asking her to declare a disaster and a commercial fishery failure for the state’s $90 million crab fishing industry, which has been stalled by toxic levels of domoic acid found in crabs off most of the California coast.

Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin caused by algae blooms that accumulates in shellfish and other invertebrates. In November it was discovered in levels that could cause a human health risk. Exposure to humans could cause nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, short-term memory loss, seizures and even death.

See Also:

• Crab Closures: San Mateo Offers Disaster Aid to Local Small Businesses Affected by Season Woes
• Crab Season Opens for Section of California Coast

The crab season was delayed and has remained closed for most of the state, with only a few fisheries in southern California reopening. The delay has already cost the California economy up to $48.3 million, according to Brown.

Declaring a commercial failure and a disaster for the state’s crab fishing industry would make the fishing community eligible for federal economic assistance.

“Crabs are a vital component of California’s natural resources and provide significant aesthetic, recreational, commercial, cultural and economic benefits to our state,” Brown wrote in his letter. “Economic assistance will be critical for the well-being of our fishing industry and our state.”

Meanwhile, some Bay Area leaders are also finding ways to help fisheries affected by the closure.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said this week he is making business assistance available through the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Port of San Francisco was taking on its own relief plan for the crab industry that would waive fees and rent for three months during the upcoming salmon season.

“San Francisco’s Dungeness crab is known around the world, and the delay of crab season has taken a substantial toll on the livelihood of the men and women in the local commercial crab industry,” Lee said in a statement. “This plan will mitigate the economic impact to the small businesses who depend on the crab industry for income and will help families during this time of crisis.”

Some of San Francisco’s fisheries have been particularly hard hit as in addition to this year’s crab season closure, salmon fishing has been impacted by four years of drought, according to Lee’s office.

— By Bay City News Service.