Gov. Brown seeks disaster declaration over Dungeness crab closure

February 09, 2016

Gov. Jerry Brown asked the federal government Tuesday to declare a fishery disaster related to a nearly three-month delay in the opening of the Dungeness crab season and closure of the rock crab fishery — a move public officials and fishermen alike hope will bring some financial relief to struggling fleets in Bodega Bay, Fort Bragg and elsewhere.

In submitting the request for aid to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Brown said direct economic losses already had reached an estimated $49 million in the foregone California catch alone, excluding any additional impacts on fish processors, gear and tackle suppliers, restaurants, markets and other interests.

“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. “Economic assistance will be critical for the well-being of our fishing industry and our state.”

Longtime commercial fisherman Stan Carpenter, president of the Fishermen’s Marketing Association of Bodega Bay, said any financial assistance would be “great.”

But the request, which had been anticipated for some time, could take months to process as federal fishery officials and financial staffers evaluate the impact of the closed fisheries on port economies up and down the state.

A federal disaster declaration would open the door to grants, loans and retraining assistance for Dungeness crab fishermen hurt by the closure. Availability of disaster aid would be contingent on congressional funding.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said Tuesday that the “economic case for a disaster declaration is clear.”

“I have already reached out to Secretary Pritzker to request her most expeditious consideration of Governor Brown’s request and I will also be introducing legislation soon with Congresswoman Jackie Speier to make federal funds available for disaster relief to affected fishermen and businesses on the North Coast,” Huffman said in a statement.

State Sen. Mike McGuire, chairman of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, said there is no room for delay.

“Time is of the essence,” the Healdsburg Democrat said, noting that some fishermen already are losing their homes, selling boats and salmon permits, and otherwise trying desperately to stay afloat.

“I think the bottom line on crab is the struggle has started to set in, and we cannot act fast enough for these families,” McGuire said.

“Just imagine losing 75 to 100 percent of your annual income and trying to survive,” he said. “You could only take out so many loans to be able to make ends meet. This is why we are going to push like hell to make sure that this emergency is declared.”

The landings of Dungeness crab, the state’s second-most valuable fishery, brought in a record $95.5 million in the 2011-12 season, though recent harvests have hovered somewhere above $60 million.

But this year, an unusually large and persistent band of a harmful algae common during warm conditions produced high levels of a neurotoxin called domoic acid that tainted several species of shellfish, including Dungeness and rock crab, well beyond the summer months.

The commercial Dungeness crab season, set to begin in November, was delayed and has yet to open, despite significant improvements in test results on crab collected up and down the state. The year-round rock crab fishery, important in Southern California, also remains shut down.

Though the Dungeness crab season normally would run through June, the loss of the lucrative Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holiday markets brings estimated losses so far to 71 percent of the season’s total commercial value, according to Brown’s letter. The estimated rock crab losses are about 37 percent of total commercial value.

“Further, it is unclear when it will be safe to open the fisheries, and there is a growing possibility the commercial Dungeness crab season may remain closed for most or all of the 2015-16 season,” Brown wrote.

Crabs are unaffected by domoic acid and eventually metabolize it and clear their systems. Although levels are now low enough in test crab out of several ports, the fishery won’t be opened until all ports test clean for two consecutive weeks. Even if that permits an opening by March 1, the reproductive season will soon be under way, diminishing the likelihood of a significant catch but, more importantly, raising the risk that any gear thrown in the water will interfere with mating and the fishery’s future, some fishermen say.

The market will be near nonexistent, as well, they say.

“It’s just not a crab-buying time of year,” said Chris Lawson, a 40-year veteran from Dillon Beach and former president of the Fishermen’s Marketing Association of Bodega Bay. “It would be like trying to sell pumpkins in July.”

That the unprecedented delay in the Dungeness crab season follows a failed salmon season only adds insult to injury, McGuire said.

State Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham said his office has been preparing since December to make a case for a fishery disaster and would work with federal officials on the necessary evaluations.

A separate request from the governor’s Office of Emergency Services prompted the U.S. Small Business Administration last week to offer low-interest disaster loans for crabbers and others affected by the crab fishery. Several local fishermen said they would apply, if only to shift high-interest debt from credit cards to SBA loans at 4 percent.

But those who benefited from federal disaster assistance in the wake of the failed 2008 salmon season said they welcomed the prospect of no-strings-attached aid, though it might be late in coming.

“It made a lot of difference,” Lawson said. “It would help everybody.”


Source: by Mary Callahan