Bay Area restaurants seek solutions for Dungeness crab season delay
With the start of the Dungeness crab commercial season delayed by more than three weeks, local restaurants have to find a solution for not having fresh crab on the table.
SANTA CRUZ — With the start of the Dungeness crab commercial season delayed by more than three weeks, local restaurants have to find a solution for not having fresh crab on the table.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that the Nov. 22 start date “poses a significant risk of marine life entanglement” and the opening of the season is being pushed to Dec. 15, according to a press release.
When conducting an aerial survey within Greater Farallones and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries on Nov. 18, the department found whales throughout the survey area off Point Reyes and Half Moon Bay. The department is scheduling a follow-up flight before Dec. 15 to determine if there are still whales in that area, according to the release, and the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group will meet the first week of December to evaluate what the risks of crabbing are.
Dungeness crab is the most abundant crab in California, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The species has white-tipped pincers on the claws and is light reddish brown on the back. It can be found from Unalaska, Alaska, to Magdalena Bay in Baja California, but is seldom seen south of Santa Barbara, according to the department.
One restaurant that serves Dungeness crab during the holiday season is Stagnaro Bros. on the Santa Cruz Wharf.
“It doesn’t affect us too much right now,” said Scott McPherson, vice president of Stagnaro Bros. “We’re not too worried about it.”
McPherson said Christmas is the business’ most popular time for Dungeness crab, with about 60% of the season’s catch used from two weeks before Christmas through New Year’s.
If the start of the commercial season is further delayed, the restaurant will push for serving other seafood, such as shellfish, oysters, clams and mussels. Stagnaro Bros. also plans to use frozen crabs from last year’s season, McPherson said.
“There’s either fresh or frozen, there’s nothing in between,” said McPherson, adding that the quality of frozen crabs can be “really good” depending on where they are sourced. Stagnaro Bros. gets its frozen crabs from Washington state and its fresh crabs are both local and outsourced, he said.
Dominic Mercurio, co-owner of Domenico’s On the Wharf in Monterey, is not so optimistic about the delay of the commercial season.
“I can’t explain to you how terrible it is,” Mercurio said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Mercurio said he doesn’t understand why wildlife entanglement wasn’t a problem 20 years ago. “Stuff’s just gonna happen,” he said.
At this time of year, Domenico’s advertises its Dungeness crab in local publications to bring locals to the restaurant, but can’t because of the delay, Mercurio said, which he believes is a loss for publications and the restaurant.
Mercurio said he tries to stay away from frozen crab because he doesn’t know when it was cooked or how old it is. Because he can’t purchase Dungeness crab from fishermen in Monterey Bay as he normally would, Mercurio will source Dungeness crabs from Oregon and Washington in December, he said.
“If you don’t have crab, you’re gonna lose a lot of business,” Mercurio said of seafood restaurants. Mercurio also owns Cafe Fina on Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. He said the cafe specializes in seafood, but it won’t be affected as much as Domenico’s by the Dungeness crab delay.