Crab fishers hope for better season this year

UPDATE 11/4/2016 6:10 PM:

Some welcome news for crab fishermen as the recreational Dungeness crab season opens on Saturday.

On Friday, sport crabbers picked up last minute gear at Moss Landing Boat Works, double checked their equipment and made sure everything was good to go ahead of the opening.

It’s something not everyone could enjoy last year.

“You know, it just a bad deal when you anticipate it all year long and you can’t go,” said Don Clark, a sport crabber from Fresno. “It’s disappointing but I understand what it was all about.”

The State Department of Public Health delayed the season for months because of domoic acid, which contaminated the crab from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara County.

Today most of the crabs are free and clear of the unsafe toxin levels, which could potentially sicken people. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin related to a bloom of certain algae.

“There has been sporadic detection of elevated levels of domoic acid this year, north of Point Reyes and Marin County but not so much that the health agencies are recommending a closure this year,” said Jordan Traverso, California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson.

But they are asking folks to avoid eating the guts of the crab, something crabbers don’t mind, as long as they can find the crab. CDFW said it will work with CDPH and fishermen to collect crab samples until the levels have lowered across the board.

“I went out yesterday and just looked, looked around, marked some areas where I think I want to put out my pots,” Clark said. “Marked them on my GPS, so, I’m going to head out early first thing in the morning and maybe not drop all my pots. I have 12 pots but I’ll probably only drop about six tomorrow.”

Commercial crabbing opens on November 15.

ORIGINAL POST:

The recreational Dungeness crab season is set to open Saturday and crabbers are hoping for a better season compared to last year’s debacle.

Both recreational and commercial crab fishing opened late for the 2015-2016 season because of an algae bloom that infected fish and shellfish with domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said recreational crab fishing will open Saturday, Nov. 5 and commercial crab fishing season expected to open Nov. 15.However, a health warning has been for crabs caught in waters just north of Point Reyes. The California Department of Public Health recommends people avoid eating the viscera portion of a crab (known as the “butter” or “guts”).

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more from local anglers in Moss Landing.