Fishermen Have High Hopes For Crab Season

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - KSBW.com

With the commercial crab season opening this weekend, local fishermen are keeping an eye on amateurs who are already experiencing a great catch.

"They're a nice size. There's some that are almost twice the size of this one here," said Mike Magill, a sports fisherman.

Commercial crab fishermen are hoping to have similar results as sports fishermen like Magill. Sport fishermen are able to catch Dungeness crab before the commercial season opens.

"From what I've seen so far, from Natural Bridges to Davenport straight out 200 feet are big fatties. (They are) fat crabs," Magill said.

In the crab world, size matters. Last year was a mediocre commercial season because most fishermen were catching only small crabs that were two to three years away from being big enough to harvest legally.

Commercial crab fishermen are limited to catching male crabs that are bigger than 6.25 inches in diameter.

"I think it's going to be a little bit better than last year. It was a good size toward the end of the season last year, so I expect a fair crop," said commercial crab fisherman Frank Ribiero.

Restaurants on the Santa Cruz Wharf are also hoping for a good catch of Dungeness crab.

"In the last couple of years, it's been a struggle to get the boats and get it," said Louis Arenae, owner of Miramar Restaurant. "I think last season they may have canceled it. So we had no crab for the last couple of years. "

The price for this year's Dungeness crab has not been set, but fishermen said they don’t expect it to be much higher or lower than last year's price.

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