Commercial crab fishing season delayed

The California Department of Fish and Wildfire has delayed the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season and commercial rock crab fishery.

Fisherman on the Central Coast saidthey arenot happy.

“It’s kind of how we make a living,” said fisherman Chayney Perez.

The announcement, made Friday, follows the delay of the recreational crab fishing season. This week, the California Department of Public Health warned people to avoid eating Dungeness crabs after the discovery of high domoic acid levels from a massive algae bloom.

The commercial season was scheduled to begin on Nov. 15.

“Crab is an important part of California’s culture and economy, and I did not make this decision lightly,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “But doing everything we can to limit the risk to public health has to take precedence.”

But now many fisherman like Perez are forced to look at other ways to get work and make money.

“Probably fish Bonita if anything, if they are still around. Anything we can really fish for we’ll try. But crab was big,” said Perez.

The delay and closure will remain in effect until CDFW rules otherwise.