By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Local fishermen will be on the water next Monday, January 11 to bring delicious, sweet Dungeness crab to the tables over the weekend, after San Francisco fishing boat owners and the Seafood Marketing Association reached an agreement to start this activity safely.
According to the Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Association (HMBSMA), it took an extraordinary level of communication and unity among a diverse fleet to wait so long to fish, self-regulate a start date and a pre-removal under a "gentleman's agreement" to resume activities.
Agreement for a safe start process was reached among fishermen in Bodega Bay, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, Vallejo, Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey in late December to mitigate uncertainty and provide a safer start for the entire fleet.
When a price was agreed upon last Friday, January 8, the process was also enacted in the agreement and this resulted in a set time, which was scheduled at 8:00 a.m. this Monday and a hauling time of 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 13.
The need for this agreement was to reduce the damage and dangers that can follow what fishermen call a "shotgun start," a scenario in which a price agreement and a fishing start in another region is the equivalent of a gunshot in a race.
The above results in local boats loaded with gear being forced to disperse and rush out to sea with as little as an hour's notice, in sometimes dangerous conditions, but by 2021 this scenario has been avoided and is expected to be a new precedent for the future.
So this weekend, fishermen are making last-minute preparations with souls ahead of schedule on Monday, while businesses, markets and coastal communities that support the fleet are preparing to be ready when they begin hauling gear on Wednesday and bringing crabs to market.
We appreciate the public's support and love for Dungeness crab and are happy to get to work on bringing delicious, high quality, local crabs to enjoy next week," he said.
Seafood Marketing Association HMBSMA
