‘Tis the season

“We’re excited. The last month or so you’ve just been working on the boat, working on the crab pots, getting everything ready. And now, you finally get to go to work, get to catch something. We’re all pumped up,” said Porter McHenry, captain of the Merva W and president of the Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Association.

Hungry holiday crab lovers can rest assured the scrumptious crustaceans will be available for their feasts this year. Locally, commercial fishermen often sell crab directly off the boat at Pillar Point Harbor where scores of customers line the docks eager to take home the freshest catch around.

“It’s great to be able to do it again; it’s great we’ll be able to go back to work and have some crab to sell,” said Jim Anderson, captain of the Allaine and a member of the California’s Dungeness Crab Task Force. “We have high hopes for commercial season this year.”

Those interested in buying off-the-boat crab can find real-time information about who’s selling what on the free FishLine app available for iPhone and Android devices, as well as online.

“Off-the-boat sales is such a good way for people to come and get fresh product, you can’t get it any fresher,” said McHenry. “It’s probably one of the best things you can eat. It’s not farmed, it’s wild, this is the best. It’s great that we opened on time, no delays and we’ve got Thanksgiving coming.”

Local fishermen are as dependent as ever on a successful crabbing season as the lasting effects of the drought wreaked havoc on the salmon fishery and crab tainted with domoic acid shuttered the 2015 season.

While it varies based on the structure of their business, many commercial fishermen earn a large majority of their annual income during crab season. Anderson noted his take used to be about 70 percent salmon, but now, about 80 percent of his business is Dungeness crab.

“For a lot of boats since salmon has been poor the last few years, a big portion of their yearly income has been crab,” Anderson explained.

After negotiating with other ports to establish a base wholesale price, the threat of a strike was off and Anderson said they agreed to kick off the season as soon as the state would allow — midnight Wednesday.

While facing a setback with his gear, Anderson said he hopes to get in the water by Friday and noted the price for off-the-boat sales will vary and depend on how much of a harvest they’re reeling in.

Sport season started two weeks earlier and initial reports have been spotty with some seeing decent crabs and others not as lucky, according to Anderson and McHenry.

The season is primarily open throughout California after reports from the state showed crabs were not testing positive for unsafe levels of domoic acid — a neurotoxin bolstered by algae blooms that can be dangerous for humans in high quantities.

While the crabs are clear for catching, the push is on for local fishermen to haul them to shore and offer them up to holiday revelers.

“It’s hectic every year, but it seems to get more hectic,” Anderson said. “Everybody’s trying to make money.”

McHenry, who set off Tuesday with nearly 450 crab pots and an eager crew, agreed there’s a frenzy. After a nearly eight-hour voyage to lay out the pots, McHenry ventured back to Pillar Point to load up on more gear. For McHenry, midnight Wednesday marks both the start of commercial crab season and his 35th birthday. Like many other fishermen hopeful for a bountiful catch, McHenry said his crew would spend the next few days at sea.

“It’s a rush, everybody wants to get their pots in the water; this is the day. It’s a zoo, but it’s normal,” McHenry said. When asked if he’d be having crab for his birthday, he responded simply “whatever we eat, we’re going fishing.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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