Price Dispute Delays Bay Area Dungeness Crab Season: Report

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — Last month concerns about protecting marine life delayed the start of Dugneness crab season past Thanksgiving.

Now a price dispute is being blamed for pushing it past Christmas and possibly into 2021, The Mercury News reports.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife in mid-November delayed the start of the commercial crab season until Wednesday amid concerns about migrant whales getting entangled in fishing lines.

But local fisherman didn't return to the Bay Area's coastal waters two days before Christmas as they were supposed to.

They are now locked in a price dispute with wholesalers the according to the report.

The fisherman are asking for a price per pound in the mid $3 range while wholesalers are offering around a dollar less per pound for the popular holiday seafood delicacy that retails for between $7 to $20, the report said.

They’re likely to meet in the middle, San Francisco crab supplier Max Bolands of Safe Coast Seafoods told the outlet, but even a swift resolution to the dispute may not be enough to get crab fisherman back at sea this week.

High seas and southerly winds could further delay the start of the season according to the report.

“Certainly rough weather is a concern for the fleet,” said Ryan Bartling, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to the report.

“Safety needs to come first.”

Read more at The Mercury News