“Hasta la vista, crabby!”

Governor vetoes conservation bill limiting access to California fishery

By JW Sharp posted 10/24/2005

In a move that shocked supporters, Governor Schwarzenegger last week vetoed legislation that would have extended limited entry to the state crab fishery for another ten years. Existing legislation sunsets in April, 2006. Now supporters must resort to urgent legislation, requiring a two-thirds majority and the Governor’s signature, to continue the limit. Given that Schwarzenegger has now vetoed similar legislation twice, the chances of passage are slim, according to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA).

All west coast states have legislation on the books limiting access to their Dungeness crab fishery. The procedure helps spread out the catch over the season and offers increased employment for fishermen. It may also be the key to getting the fishery certified as sustainable.

“Sustainable certification would allow us to sell in more markets, like Whole Foods,” said Zeke Grader of the PCFFA.  California and Oregon are currently seeking international certification under the Marine Stewardship Council. “Fish don’t have an organic label. MSC is the gold standard.”

The vetoed bill, AB 749, sponsored by Assemblymembers Mark Leno, Patty Berg and Gene Mullin, had three main goals — extend limited entry to the fishery for another ten years, put in place a two-year 250 trap per vessel limit for boats fishing south of Point Arena, and give the state Fish and Game Commission authority to regulate the fishery (as opposed to the legislature, which currently exercises that authority).

According to Grader, the bill had widespread support throughout the state. Most boats that fish out of California harbors are owned by individuals rather than corporations and rarely take out more than 250 traps at a time. Among the main opponents of the bill were owners of larger vessels from out-of-state and a fish processor from Oregon, who benefit from bringing a lot of crabs all at once.

“He [Schwarzenegger] didn’t want the trap limits because Oregon processors don’t like it,” said Grader. “They don’t mind a lot of product because they freeze everything. Spreading out the harvest means better product, fresher crab and more jobs.”

The larger vessels carry more than 1000 traps at a time and deploy them all at once. The result is that smaller fishermen find it harder to operate and the fishery gets depleted earlier in the season. It also means a glut of Dungeness all reaching the docks at the same time. Grader said PCFFA plans to start an organization called CrabWatch to document the inevitable dumping they say will result from the lack of trap limits.

Without limits on fishing effort for these crab that are harvested from Central California to Southeast Alaska, explained Larry Collins, a San Francisco fisherman and vice-president of the Crab Boat Owners Association, “hundreds of  thousands of  pounds of crabs will be wasted – dumped dead back into the ocean, as happened last year at Fisherman’s Wharf, because processors cannot handle all the crab at once.  Thousands and thousands of traps will be lost with no limit on either vessels or gear, in an ‘arms race’ to get the crabs. Crab fishing will become even more dangerous. And, the public will lose access to fresh, local crab now for most of the season.”

In addition to local crab fishermen and restaurants, AB 749 enjoyed broad support, including seafood markets, many local fish processors, conservation organizations, recreational anglers, and local governments including the City and County of San Francisco and the San Mateo County Harbor District.

“The Governor talks a good line when it comes to our oceans, but actions speak louder than words, “ said Collins “This veto will destroy our crab fishery, there’s no other way to describe it.”

The urgency legislation must be filed by January. Grader says the new bill will probably only seek to extend the limited entry. In his veto message, the Governor noted that the trap limits were “arbitrary” as his reason for sending the bill back down. But trying to make Schwarzenegger happy is no guarantee that the third time will be the charm.

“We had a bill that we thought was reasonable and we addressed the Governor’s concerns from last year that he voiced at that time,” said Grader. “At the behest of some large out of state processors he vetoed it again. He not only vetoed the 250-trap limit that the local fishermen wanted but he also vetoed the whole limited entry.”

“It puts us in a hell of a pickle right now,” Grader concluded. “I’m not sure what our next step is going to be.”