When the opening of the commercial crab season was shut down in November, it was common sense to think that there would be a ton more Dungeness crabs available along the Bay Area coast.
But nobody figured it would be like this.
To wrap your brain around what’s going on out there, consider the ongoing cumulative scores since the season opened Nov. 2 for the five recreational boats out of Fish Emeryville: A total of 3,175 anglers has landed limits of Dungeness crab (10 per person) and rockfish (10 per person) on every trip on every boat. That is a total of 31,750 of both Dungeness and rockfish for the 3,175 to make trips.
This past week, the hits, as we say, just kept on coming.
The Salty Lady had a charter out of Emeryville with 30 people aboard. They caught 300 Dungeness crabs — many commercial quality, in the 3-pound range — plus 300 rockfish to 7 pounds and five lingcod to 10 pounds. This is how it is these days.
Crab combos out of Sausalito, Berkeley, San Francisco, Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay have had similar success. It’s so good that people are now booking trips for the opening months in future years, as far out as November 2023, said Andy Guiliano, owner of Fish Emeryville. “They want to make sure they can get on a boat.”
Trips cost $150 for the Crab Combo, and for crab only, $120, fairly standard rates in the industry. At Emeryville, a dock service is also available to cook and clean your limit of 10 Dungeness crab for $25, plus a limit of 10 rockfish for $7 to $10 (depending on weight).
“You don’t have to go home, tired, and start your pot up to boil and then clean your catch,” Guiliano said. “You walk off the boat with great, super high quality protein, 10 big Dungeness and 20 rockfish fillets.
“The Dungeness is ultra-fresh. You just caught it. It’s the freshest crab you can get.” For now, it’s also the only crab you can get.
Shutdown equals reward
Because of a shutdown to the opener of the commercial Dungeness crab season in November, Dungeness caught on sport and party boats is the only game in town. Some in the public have been confused, Guiliano said, that although you cannot buy Dungeness crab, it is legal to catch them on sport and party boats.
“Some people have heard about this and call us, befuddled,” Guiliano said. “They can’t believe the stories of all people walking off the boats with all these fish and crabs. A lot of people have trouble getting their arms around the quality of the fishing here in the bay and ocean.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season, and then the commercial fleet postponed it again with the risk of their lines entangling whales. Aerial flights have spotted whales in crabbing grounds off the Bay Area coast, they said.
The fulcrum leverage is a lawsuit by the Center of Biological Diversity, which sued Fish and Wildlife, alleging that it was not doing enough to protect whales. Last year’s settlement included trigger points for shutdowns, where a single entanglement could potentially shut down the commercial fishing season for the year.
It has the commercial guys playing defense. The result is that sport anglers have had the playing field to themselves. Last year, commercial vessels offloading their catches in San Francisco caught 2.21 million Dungeness crabs, according to report by the Cal DFW. The sport catch, such as the 31,750 out of Emeryville in the past month, represents 0.01% of the commercial catch, and has no effect on the population.
In Northern California, from San Francisco to Eureka, the annual commercial catch usually ranges to about 12 million pounds of crab. For the sport fleet, even with the best catch numbers in history in the past month — it is comparable to taking home a speck of sand from the beach.
Easy, fun limits
If the boat is set up for it, crabbing is easy and fun. Most use power gurneys on their boats to hoist the traps, and on the party boats, everybody takes part to keep it fun and the opposite of a commercial operation.
Off the Bay Area coast, the best stretch of water for Dungeness is usually about 150 to 170 feet deep, though we’ve seen the buoys from lots of pots as shallow as 90 feet and as deep as 200 feet. Most bait the crab pots with squid.
Out of Half Moon Bay, posts on the website operated by the Coastside Fishing Club, there’s a consensus that using salmon bellies kept from the summer fishing season is the best bet for the biggest Dungeness, the 3-pounders. Another consensus is using the carcasses of rockfish for bait can get your trap filled with rock crabs.
Crab combos
Emeryville: Fish Emeryville, 510-652-3403, www.fishemeryville.com
Berkeley: Berkeley Charter Boats, 510-849-3333, www.berkeleycharterboats.com
San Francisco: Bass-Tub, 415-456-9055, www.basstub.com
Pillar Point Harbor: Huli Cat, Half Moon Bay, 650-726-2926, www.hulicat.com
Bodega Bay: Bodega Bay Sportfishing, 707-875-3344, www.bodegabaysportfishing.com
Note: Partial list. Trips cost is $125 to $150 range. Rod rentals available. California state fishing license required, info and link at www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing
Along the way, the party boats will float over the reefs, where anglers will bring out their rods for rockfish. It’s fun and easy, where you tie on jigs, let them drop to the rocks, reel up a few cranks, and get ready to hang on for the ride. I like using fairly light saltwater tackle, and a dark purple/silver Point Wilson Dart (a metal jig). From the front of the boat, cast underhand ahead of the drift, and let the dart sink to the reef. By the time your line is vertical, you can have a fish on, ready for a scrap.
All you really need these days is a calm day. The Dungeness and rockfish are waiting for you.
Tom Stienstra is The Chronicle’s outdoors writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom
2019-12-08 12:00:00Z
https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/stienstra/article/No-crab-for-sale-No-problem-Sport-boats-haul-14890137.php
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