There Will Be No Dungeness Crab for Christmas in the Bay Area | Eater SF

"I spoke with Tom Worthington, co-owner of Monterey Fish Market, and describe it as one of the Bay Area’s best-known retail and wholesale seafood suppliers, specializing in locally caught seafood for local chefs, home cooks, and some of the region’s top restaurants. Worthington explains that when the Dungeness season opens the docks are suddenly flooded with crab and the largest boats — which can take in “40,000 to 100,000 pounds of crab a tow” — enable huge companies with freezers full from last year to bid very low (around $2.25 per pound, according to the SF Chronicle) while local fishermen say they need at least $3.30 per pound to make a trip worth their while; as a result, the biggest boats are refusing to head out, leaving smaller suppliers and restaurants short of fresh crab for the holidays. He also describes an old-school, all-or-nothing ethos among fishermen — with strong peer pressure and rumors of cut lines or gear sabotage for anyone who crosses the informal picket line — and notes that the pandemic has made commercial crabbing even more dangerous because crews work in close quarters, which helps explain why local fishers are holding out for higher pay." - Eve Batey