Dungeness crab season gets underway amid hope for relief in commercial fishing fleet

On Sunday, veteran fisherman Chris Lawson learned he had lost his eldest granddaughter in a terrible crash on the Bay Bridge.

The next day, he was out on his commercial fishing vessel, Seaward, setting traps on the ocean floor in preparation for the delayed start of the Dungeness crab season Thursday at 12:01 a.m.

Moving on is part of the grieving process, said Lawson, a third-generation commercial fisherman.

But this year, it also was a necessity.

Scarce fishing opportunities over the past year have pushed many in the commercial fishing industry to the brink, so the chance to finally harvest crab — even in the middle of the night — was not to be missed. Lawson’s girlfriend’s son, whom he calls his stepson, launched as well, setting pots from a second boat.

“We feel terrible,” Lawson said. “But also, we’ve been so long without a paycheck, and my crew needs money. There’s nothing else to do.”

Dungeness crab and king salmon have long sustained Northern California fishing ports. They provide culinary rewards to tourists and satisfy gourmets around the region and the world. Each has been a staple, if sometimes elusive, resource for the commercial fishing industry.

But decades of declining salmon stocks and restricted crab seasons over most of the past nine years have added growing uncertainty and hardship to an already grueling profession practiced on the waves, in the elements, sometimes for days without real rest.

After last year’s shortened Dungeness crab season and the total closure of the salmon fishery last summer, commercial crabbers had to wait two months to start the 2023-24 season under recently adopted management rules designed to reduce the risk marine animal entanglements. Officially, the season opens Nov. 15.

Some commercial skippers have gone without fishing since the crab season closed in mid-April, long before the season’s traditional June 30 close.

But even as they begin landing crab again this week, they have missed out on the lucrative holiday season, when the bulk of live domestic crab have typically been consumed.

Moreover, they are working with a 50% gear restriction designed to reduce the number of vertical lines in the ocean after several recent entanglements in lost or abandoned derelict gear. The Department of Fish and Wildlife originally proposed a 70% cut, though the fleet persuaded officials that 50% was necessary to make crabbing cost-effective.

That means commercial boats can fish with only half the traps for which they are permitted — a burden particularly in these early days of the season, when the crab are most abundant and the rewards of pent-up demand drive repeated trips between shore and the crabbing pots over many hours and days.

“A lot of guys had no income throughout the salmon season,” said Joseph Hernandez, 34, new owner of Acme, a more-than-century-old vessel. “A lot of guys haven’t had a landing or a check in almost an entire year.”

So rather than wait to negotiate an agreeable price with seafood buyers on shore, as is typical, the fleet left dock Wednesday hoping they would be met with satisfaction when they returned with their catch.

Many also were planning to go hard until predicted high winds and large swells arrived later in the week.

Dick Ogg, captain of the Karen Jeanne and president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, left Bodega Harbor around noon Wednesday, checked his traps by daylight to ensure there were no tangles, then fished all night before bringing his catch ashore late Thursday morning. But he said by text message he hadn’t even waited to find out what price it would catch.

“We cannot stop,” he wrote. “Bad weather is due tomorrow. One more all-nighter.”

Some are worried that after so long without reliable work, there will be some who might continue even if the weather is less than good.

“Guys are hungry, and the guys are going to stay out as long as they can,” said Eureka fisherman Jake McMaster, 33, captain of The Banjo, who launched from Bodega Bay this year.

Curtailed crab seasons are increasingly normal and necessary to balance the risk to endangered humpback and blue whales, as well as Leatherback sea turtles, which travel thousands of mile to forage off California’s shore. (Animal welfare organizations have advocated adoption of “ropeless,” pop-up gear, which minimizes vertical lines in the ocean until traps on the ocean floor are ready to be pulled. Pop-up traps would allow for crabbing even when whales were in the vicinity but most crabbers view them as costly and unreliable.)

But complete loss of the salmon season, which once ran from spring to early fall, was more than the already buffeted fishing community could take, especially when the outlook for a season this year is poor, as well.

Those who had permits to harvest black cod, rock fish or albacore when they otherwise might have been hooking salmon, mostly found the markets too soft to make any real money, though some got enough, through alternative fisheries or other means at least to make ends meet.

Those who fished worked like mad to land enough and get a price that would cover fuel, food, and other costs and warrant the wear-and-tear on their boats.

Hernandez fished halibut five days a week all summer and sold it off the pier in San Francisco on weekends, even though the price “was the lowest I’ve ever seen.” But after working for years in tech, it was enough to help him buy his boat.

McMaster spent almost five months away from home, fishing albacore off the Pacific Northwest.

“The way it is right now, you’ve got to go where you can,” he said.

Lawson has a small cattle ranch that helped a little, but not enough.

“I’m 62,” he said. “I could see my retirement on the horizon, and now I’m just using that: my retirement money.”

Younger crabbers, especially, often have mortgages for boats and high-value permits, in addition to their housing costs and living expenses. Crew members generally get paid a cut from the harvests but have no safety net when they’re docked.

And there are some who would like to get out of the industry but can’t sell their boats, given future uncertainty.

The community has rallied to provide support where it can, primarily through Waves of Compassion, a 6 1/2-year-old, local nonprofit created to sponsor food pantries for those in need, though it’s done much more.

Aided by a $10,400 donation by the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival, $5,000 from the Bodega Bay Fire Foundation, and thousands in individual donations, the group supplied food and meals to those who needed help but also bought more than $20,000 worth of commercial grade jackets, bibs, boots, hats and gloves to replace worn out gear for about 53 recipients.

It recharged 75 fire extinguishers dockside to spare crews the time and money to travel into town. It also contributed $300 for each commercial fisherman toward the cost of mandatory lifeboat repacking and inspection, which runs a minimum of $600 but can be more than three times that much, depending how many lifeboats are onboard, said Patty Ginochio, vice president of the nonprofit.

“Our community is amazing. They love our fishermen,” she said. “Our fishermen have taken the brunt of all the closures, and they’re hanging on by a thread.”

Sonoma County officials also waived berthing fees at Spud Point Marina for the 50 or 60 captains who applied each month, at a cost just under $100,000, said Noah Wagner, marina supervisor.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, meanwhile, declared a fishery disaster for the 2023 salmon fishery in November, but it remains unclear how long it might take for aid to arrive. It typically takes years.

The chance to fish now has brought some energy back to the fleet, however, and to the whole town, said Ginochio.

“You can feel the joy that our fishermen are going out because first and foremost, we are a fishing village,” she said.

Ogg, cruising out of the harbor Wednesday, said the gift of calm seas for at least day was an extra blessing.

Approaching Tomales Point, weaving around buoys and gear that recreational crabbers were allowed to place before the commercial fleet could go out, Ogg said, “We’re back where we love to be. This is home

“We’re just hoping the pots are full, and we get them turned over and get back home and can make some money,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @MaryCallahanB.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the number of fire extinguishers recharged.