Gov. Brown Calls This Year's CA Crab Industry A Disaster, Seeks Federal Help

Photos: Crab pot stacked in a parking lot in Half Moon Bay; docked fishing fleet. Photos by Bea Karnes, Patch
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As it remains uncertain whether this winter’s Dungeness crab season will ever open for most of California, Gov. Jerry Brown this week asked the federal government to declare a commercial fisheries disaster.

Brown sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker asking her to declare a disaster and a commercial fishery failure for the state’s $90 million crab fishing industry, which has been stalled by toxic levels of domoic acid found in crabs off most of the California coast.

Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin caused by algae blooms that accumulates in shellfish and other invertebrates. In November it was discovered in levels that could cause a human health risk. Exposure to humans could cause nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, short-term memory loss, seizures and even death.

See Also:

• Crab Season Delayed Due To Toxic Algae Bloom

The crab season was delayed and has remained closed for most of the state, with only a few fisheries in southern California reopening.

The delay has already cost the California economy up to $48.3 million, according to Brown. Declaring a commercial failure and a disaster for the state’s crab fishing industry would make the fishing community eligible for federal economic assistance.

“Crabs are a vital component of California’s natural resources and provide significant aesthetic, recreational, commercial, cultural and economic benefits to our state,” Brown wrote in his letter. “Economic assistance will be critical for the well-being of our fishing industry and our state.”

--Bay City News