Commercial crab season delayed, a big blow to local restaurants

The State Fish and Wildlife Department has indefinitely delayed the start of the commercial crab season set to begin November 15th.

Public health officials say a toxin living in the tissue of Dungeness crabs makes them unsafe to eat.

The culprit is Domoic acid caused by algae blooms in the unusually warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

From the water to the pot to the ice, Dungeness crab is in demand and a huge money maker for Liberty Fish Company.

News of the commercial Dungeness crab season and commercial rock crab fishery being delayed could slow things down.

“When something like this happens you always have potential to losing money,” said Nicholas Higuera, manager of Liberty Fish Company. “Yea we will feel it a little, more than a little bit.”

Higuera says the public’s perception of what’s going on may just add to the economic toll.

“People are going to be afraid to eat crab,” said Higuera. “I’ve already heard a lot of people saying even though some places have crab, they may have frozen, they may have fresh, they’re scared to eat it. They might be afraid so that’s going to hurt us a lot I think.”

From November 15th through Christmas the Monterey Fish company can sell 10,000 pounds of Dungeness crab with people lined up outside the door.

“We’re devastated,” Monterey Fish Company owner Sal Tringali said. “Crab is such a big thing for us especially with the holidays coming, it’s disappointing.”

“I’ll miss it ‘cause I used to make the crab cocktails,” said Maria Ackerman of Castroville, CA. “So yea I’ll miss it during Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

The commercial crab season being delayed may also force some businesses to get creative.

“We’re going to hope that we can find some crab up north where the seasons not closed,” said Tringali. “Maybe it might be Oregon, Washington, Alaska. A lot of phone calls that need to be made and see what’s going on.”