SAN FRANCISCO – Boats sat tied to the docks in San Francisco Bay on the opening day of Dungeness crab season yesterday as concerns over contamination from last week's oil spill weakened demand for the tasty crustaceans and kept crabbers off the water.
Meanwhile, authorities investigating the incident said they are examining whether the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service fell short by declining to warn the cargo ship's pilot that he was in danger moments before the ship sideswiped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, spilling 58,000 gallons of thick bunker fuel into the bay.
Miles of coastline have been fouled and hundreds of oil-coated birds have died. Many beaches remain closed.
At Fisherman's Wharf, crabbers said they wouldn't go out until the oil spill was cleaned up and public confidence restored. Seafood buyers said they're concerned about potential liability if someone becomes ill from eating oil-tainted crab.
“It just takes one crab and you'll have a problem. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen,” said Max Boland of Alber Seafoods, a wholesaler on the wharf.
Local crabbers had asked the governor to delay the opening of the entire commercial crab fishery. But the state announced Wednesday that only the San Francisco Bay and waters within three miles of the coastline from San Mateo County to Point Reyes would be closed.
Dungeness crab, a delicacy, is usually caught more than three miles offshore.
