Still No Crab, Fishermen Stand Firm on Price

Yesterday afternoon more than 60 fishermen met in the Pillar Point Harbor parking lot and voted to keep holding out for a higher price than buyers are willing to pay for their catch.

Some buyers are willing to pay $2.25 per pound, but Half Moon Bay crab fishermen will stay put at their $2.50 asking price.

“This is not an unreasonable price,” said Half Moon Bay fisherman Jim Anderson. “Looking at the cost of living and the quality of the crab getting better, we figured $2.50 is a reasonable price. The cost of everything, from fuel and bait, has gone up so we’re just trying to pick a fair price.”

Despite the crab season officially opening on Nov. 15, no fishermen in the three ports, Bodega Bay, San Francisco or Half Moon Bay, will go crab fishing until an agreement is reached on price.

“We’re like the united front right now,” said Anderson. “That means everybody at every port will hold out for the price of the $2.50.”

A week ago, approximately 100 fishermen gathered at the harbor in the hopes of working out a solution that would be able to get their boats out during what is traditionally their most lucrative time of year.

Yet even after yesterday's meeting, a price has not been agreed upon, and negotiating more with buyers will probably happen on Monday, explains Anderson, since it’s a holiday weekend.

“There will be more meetings until we can reach an agreement,” he said.

Until then 40 to 60 boats remain in each of the three idled ports as a result of the price dispute.

And even though buyers here in Half Moon Bay “like Morning Star, Three Captains and one from British Columbia have all agreed to the $2.50,” said MacLean, “we’re not going out because we’re waiting for buyers from the other ports to now agree to this price.”

If a price agreement is reached, then fishermen will then to decide when to go fishing in a way that doesn’t give some boats an unfair start.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t get this price,” said MacLean. “These same buyers are paying $2.50 for tribal crab from Washington.”

MacLean says the fishermen are more than ready to go out and are “getting nervous and antsy and bills are due,” he said.

“I thought we were going fishing yesterday, but instead we had a meeting to stand our ground,” he said. “It’s unfortunate because it’s Thanksgiving weekend. We rarely sit for a long time and get a good price so everybody is on edge. It’s like the buyers are holding the industry hostage because they refuse to pay a fair price.”

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