Crab Fishermen Await Word on Extent of Ban

Moss Landing crab fishermen are in limbo.

On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suspended all fishing in the waters contaminated by last week’s oil spill in San Francisco Bay. Fishermen, citing concern that the 58,000-gallon spill in the San Francisco Bay could pose a health risk to humans who consume seafood pulled from the contaminated waters, had requested the stoppage.

Meanwhile, local crabbers were preparing to keep their boats docked as they awaited word on whether the governor’s order would be extended to include the Monterey Bay area and possibly the entire California coast.

Ocean and bay water is used to keep the crustaceans alive on boats after being harvested from the sea floor.

Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, said they had asked the governor to suspend the taking of Dungeness crab along the entire coast.

"It’s probably better that people share in the sacrifice," said Grader.

Grader favors extending the restrictions on crabbing to the entire coast, fearing the closure of fisheries in the San Francisco area will drive competitors south. He said the concern is that if some areas such as the Monterey Bay remain open, large fishing boats will move in and catch what local fishermen would normally bring in.

"There’s a chance they will take in a number of days what would normally last four or five months," said Grader.

Fishermen who run their boats out of the Moss Landing Harbor share Grader’s concerns about having to compete with out-of-towners in the local waters.

"The local boats would get a smaller piece of the pie that’s in the bay," said Tom Hart, a fisherman out of the Moss Landing Harbor.

Hart, 56, who catches crab north of Half Moon Bay, had not yet loaded his pots onto his boat Tuesday.

"If they open it up, I’ll go fishing in the drop of a hat. I have to be competitive," said Hart.

Fishermen from Oregon and Washington are drawn to the San Francisco Bay because the crab season opens two weeks earlier there than in zones farther north. Some of those boats were already packing up their gear and heading back north after the governor issued his order Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger’s order left it up to the Department of Fish and Game and state health officials to determine exactly what areas will be off limits.

Carlos Fonseca, spokesman for Fish and Game, said the areas placed off limits Tuesday were those beaches in the San Francisco Bay Area closed as a result of the spill and extending three miles out to sea.

"If they are not in those areas (fishermen) are good to go," said Fonseca.

He added that the restricted area could be expanded today to incorporate areas farther south.

Fonseca said there was no evidence the oil that spilled into the San Francisco Bay when a cargo ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge had reached Monterey Bay.

"We are not seeing any tar balls or anything like that turning up there," he said.

The stoppage is to begin Thursday and will remain in effect until Dec. 1 or until state wildlife and health officials deem it safe to reopen the fisheries.

No crab fishing in the San Francisco Bay waters means fresh crab, often served beside turkey at the Thanksgiving dinner table, will be hard to come by.

"The real loser is the consumer," said Hart.

At Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery in Moss Landing, owner Phil DiGirolamo said he has plenty of crab to get him to the holiday — but it’s frozen, caught in June.

"We’ll do the best we can," said DiGirolamo.

Schwarzenegger also ordered the state Department of Public Health to determine whether people can become sick if they eat seafood caught in areas affected by the spill.

Grader said allowing some areas to remain open for fishing could result in a potential health risk if bad crab made it to market, because fishermen could make a catch in the closed waters and drop it at open ports.

Hart said food safety needs to be placed above all else.

"There’s nothing better than good seafood and there’s nothing worse than bad seafood," he said. "Any little scare turns the market off."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For a list of beaches closed in the San Francisco Bay Area, see www.uscgsanfrancisco.com/go/doc/823/182034/