High demand, but low supply, for Central Coast crabs

Those Christmas crabs could be a bit tougher to get your claws on this year.

Up in the San Francisco Bay Area, some companies are all out.

The Alioto-Lazio Company tells our affiliate KPIX that the high surf has led to a drop from 30 thousand pounds of Dungeness crab to between just three and seven thousand.

“If we had the crab we would help out everybody, but we can’t,” said their President, Annette Traverso.

The recent rough water is keeping fishing boats stuck on shore. But on the Central Coast, make a trip to Monterey and you can fill your plate at Domenico’s on the Wharf.

Owner Sam Mercurio tells KION you might have to make like a crab and shuffle, by calling a few different places to see who actually has them.

“There are so many people that want them, they’re just getting wiped out by the good customers. They are around. Just like we have them because we have the connections. But there’s not a lot of them,” Mercurio said.

While some Dungeness is available locally, Mercurio says they’re having to pay more. Before the holidays, he was buying his crabs for about $4.50 a pound. Now, his supplier is charging more than $9.00.

“I’ll give you this much. They’re expensive. You’ve got to pay for what you want. The goods.”