[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 11/15/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

November 15, 2007

 

3. Watersheds -

 

 

State leaves some crabbing grounds open

San Francisco Chronicle – 11/15/07

By Brian Hoffman, staff writer

 

 (11-14) 14:14 PST -- In its assessment of waters affected by the Cosco Busan fuel spill, the Department of Fish and Game this morning left open much of the traditional crab grounds in the ocean outside the Golden Gate to both commercial and recreational fishermen.

 

The closure, which will remain in effect through Dec. 1, includes all San Francisco Bay waters west of the Carquinez Bridge, and the ocean between San Mateo County's Pedro Point and Marin's Point Reyes within 3 nautical miles of the coastline.

 

Waters outside of 3 nautical miles, between Pedro Point and Point Reyes, will remain open to fishermen. The ocean directly off Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay are unaffected by the closure.

 

Many local commercial crabbers had urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for a closure extending from Point Arena in Mendocino County south to the Mexico border, to protect their waters and Dungeness market.

 

"We are flabbergasted," said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "The decision makes sense for the recreational fishermen, but not for the commercial crabbers. There now is real potential to bring contaminated crab into the market."

 

Commercial crabbers were set to drop their pots today, with the start of the season tomorrow. Over the weekend, however, Crab Boat Owners Association members from San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay voted to delay their season.

 

Grader had word this morning that at least five large commercial crabbing boats from Crescent City in Del Norte County and Oregon, some carrying as many as 1,000 crab pots, already were dropping gear over the Dungeness grounds.

 

What remains unclear is how commercial boats, if they do harvest crab, will get their catch to processors and wholesalers in San Francisco.

 

The closure, as outlined by the DFG, prohibits the use of live wells or holding tanks that draw water from outside a vessel. As nearly all the commercial boats keep their crab alive by pumping in water, the ban would seem to prohibit offloading within San Francisco Bay.

 

According to Grader, boats could bring their catches to Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay, but he was unsure if either harbor could handle the expected volume of crab.#

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/15/MNROTCET8.DTL