The dock we were on in Noyo Harbor was home primarily to commercial fishing boats. The nice guys on the boat next to us gave us four big dungeness crabs, live from their catch. I looked around for something to reciprocate with and settled on our last box of Girl Scout cookies. The captain, who was still in his diving suit having cut free a line that had fouled his propeller, seemed quite happy. Thanks to Tim for cooking them for us! The biggest pot was my Instant Pot, so we used that to boil water and then cook two crabs at a time. With other side dishes, one crab per person is a hearty meal.
I spoke to a man (I’m guessing in his 90’s) who was varnishing his fishing boat. He had been trying to sell his boat that comes with a crab license so he could retire, but with the price of crab being so low lately, he’s cut his price in half and still can’t sell it. The fishermen said they currently just get $2 a pound for their live catch here in Fort Bragg. With high fuel/operating costs, some of the crabbing boats quit fishing early this year because they lose money at this rate. One of the fishermen mentioned that there is a legal battle with the processor/distributor company for price fixing. To add to the bad news, they just found out that the salmon fishing many of them rely on will not open this season to allow populations to increase. These men and women work in rough and uncomfortable conditions to bring seafood to our tables. It’s rare we get a glimpse of their side of the seafood chain.
Every working port has a Fishermen Lost at Sea memorial like this one in Noyo Harbor.
Author: Kathy
Tales of Misadventure 
Fresh crab! What a treat! The girl scout cookies cost more per pound. Ha Ha! I wonder if they could sell the crabs to locals at farmer’s markets or something. Crabbing would be a rough life! Stay safe!
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