Those looking to buy fresh crab in San Mateo County should look no further than Pillar Point Harbor, where fishers are now selling their crab off the boat after a slow season start due to opening delays and a strike for fair prices.
For the past six years, crabbing season has been delayed due to the entanglement risk to humpback whales off the California coast. It was pushed back a week further to achieve a fair price for fishers at ports from Monterey to Bodega Bay, a press release from the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations said previously.
Now, fishers are out on the water, Pillar Point Harbormaster Chris Tibbe said.
“We have a really active fleet. Unfortunately, they had a bit of a late start, [but] there’s a lot of boats out still crabbing,” he said.
Crab can be purchased off the boat at Pillar Point at most times during the day. Prices vary, with fisher Barry Day citing an $8 to $9 price point per pound and others, like harbor representatives, suggesting price averages of $10 to $11 per pound.
Those looking to get crab cracked, cleaned and even cooked can head to the nearby Pelagic Fish Market. Crab can be cooked for $15 a bag, which is typically about 10 crabs. Pelagic is also selling live local crab at $22 a pound.
Tim Obert, a fisher and PCFFA board member, said weather has been good for crabbing and whale entanglements have not posed an issue thus far. He reiterated, however, that volume has been low and wholesale prices are also poor, with market prices starting around $4.35 a pound.
“The season has gone without a glitch, there’s been no issues as far as whale entanglement,” he said. “The volume up and down the coast has been really small so far, similar to last year.”
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Unfortunately, the volume of crabs is not exceptional and off-the-boat sales have been middling, Day said. That’s in addition to the 75% pot restriction under which fishers are still operating.
He attributed the relative lack of sales to missing holiday fishing, when many customers used to purchase crab for Christmas and New Year’s.
“The public ain’t here because there’s no more Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s,” he said. “It’s just a screwed-up industry.”
Larger boats have also not been operating off Pillar Point because the crab volume doesn’t warrant the cost of operating the vessel, Tibbe said.
“When a large boat has lots of crew, lots of fuel, your yield has to be very good, every single pot. You can’t bring up a pot with only a few crabs,” he said.
Despite that, those coming to the harbor to buy crab have been excited by the process, Tibbe said.
“People seem stoked,” he said. “It’s a relatively unique process — there aren’t a lot of harbors that sell directly off the boat.”
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