Wow, an absolutely astonishing and deeply appreciated Wow, on your and the public’s, support with demand for live crab. You’ve really spoken a resounding blow to the cartels attempts to feed you frozen crab. In reality the crab speak for themselves and we all know that a freshly cooked crab is unbeatable.. So, this season so far from my point of view. We got all our gear in the ocean before the opener. It was not issue free and we really only had one true day of crab retrieval, Thursday. It was that 3rd time lucky deal. We’ve had to push for that scenario before, we generally get there. This website I had set up back in about 2016 was with the spurt of thought for online sales. I have honestly not had to really go past my texting and you will note I started some emails with salmon last year. With our delayed start I had time to learn the admin side of this web page. I also learned enough on Mailchimp to notify you all of incoming fresh catch. My phone has bee full on with texts and emails. I’m overly grateful with the response I’ve had. I also had the “be careful what you ask for” scenario The opener was highly unique. We fought for our justice on a fair price then hit the water, Lo and behold the crab are not there this year. Boom the next day the suppliers price doubles. Brain fart me earlier sent you an email on a fair price mark up from original numbers. I pull back into harbor with the realization the season is going to be slow and a grind. I also see every other boat is $2 above my price and the demand through the roof. It’s all good. As you are aware I explained my predicament to you all. Your tips were generous and covered my crew feeling they had a dumb skipper. Our future with orders. Currently demand can not meet supply. It’s not wow we for us, as our usual harvest far outweighs this scenario. 2008 was the last time we had a season similar to this. I’ll need to be very careful with orders here. Over ordering is a foolish exercise and I know the efforts you go through to get to the harbor. I’ll leave this current blog here. I’m in the bath planning my next move after a tumultuous start to this season. Once again. Thank you all. By your demand for the freshest crab you have given us a stronger voice in the marketing battles we must face. Cheers Captain Barry

      The Never-ending-story. Well, 2020 has gone, let’s start again. The crab fleet is tied to the dock in Washington, Oregon and California. There is major discrepancy in the price we want and what the major player is offering. Next obvious question would be, why should it affect my boat because I sell directly to yourselves and local suppliers? The big cartel is PAC choice. They also have there fingers in the fleet by giving loans out to boats. They are “there” boats. These are high volume large vessels that can handle in one load, what would take me the whole season to get. PAC choice controls the markets and have recently moved as far south as Bodega Bay. This year you would have noticed a lot of frozen crab on the market. That is PAC choice product. They have effectively taken San Francisco’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years markets from us and the smaller suppliers. How? They have impregnated themselves into our fleet. The volume of crab that does come into the docks could not be handled by the smaller suppliers. Smaller suppliers can not stick there necks out to far because PAC will take them out. If I went out and set my pots with my own market against the fleet consensus which is manipulated by PAC strategists, I would suffer consequences. I may lose all my pots. This would likely not be a direct order from PAC, but crab boats with the bravo “my way or the highway” retributive logic. It is not a free market. So, how do we solve this problem? I for one am going to let this season play out. I have been in the crab industry here for over a decade but still consider my self new boy on the block with these scenarios. I’m vocal at meetings but nevertheless do get rolled a lot. I’m letting this play out at the moment because this is the year to do so. 1. There is not much crab out there. we know that. 2. The demand for crab during the holidays would have swamped our docks. Boats would have all been selling from the dock due to PAC’s stalled negotiations and coupled with covid and suppliers trucks, I think covid would have won. Our dock sales would have been shut down. 3. PAC is showing there cards more clearly now, they want our season to start here in San Francisco from January 1st on. That would give them the holiday market here. PAC did send a letter to California fish and game alluding to that. They alluded to basically a coastwise opener on one date. It is a well crafted letter where there hidden agenda of dominating the market is not apparent. They used the whales and “fisherman asked us” to write this. Whales are a separate issue here and I will be devoting a section on my website to that issue. I spotted a major hole in that letter that I will be discussing with CDFW director Bonham. That being, at the height of Covid. PAC wants to bomb the entire coast into there facilities. If any of you have sent our harbor when the crab season is in full swing, it’s pandemonium. I am noticing a lot of fisherman in the fleet for San Francisco wanting our November 15th start back. I believe we can push PAC back. Our dealings will be with NGO’s and the exploding whale populations. Our coast is a healthy coast. We are regulated plenty. With crab, we only keep males over 6 1/4”. The breeding cycle is not interrupted. Generally, crab populations move in a 6 to 7 year cyclic curve. We are on the bottom of one now. HOW CAN YOU HELP. That is simple. Demand the best. Fresh local crab. The frozen rubbish does not compare. To PAC, he can not see you, he’s sees the graph of his frozen market pushing into our market. His customers are shareholders. Here’s hoping. Captain Barry      

Hi all,          This years crab season has been an ordeal for  us all. No thanks giving or Christmas crab. Once we jumped the whale hoop the price became an issue.   Let me be brief on the whales, they are no longer shot with exploding spears and there population is increasing each year at a highly noticeable extent to my eyes on the ocean. It’s a good thing. They have plenty of food in the vast amount of anchovies out there. I’m seeing a healthy ocean.   The price. What has happened is the large cartel that also owns crab boats is dominating the market. They loaded there freezers up early in the season when we were in the whale issue. Then, you would have seen frozen crab in the markets for Christmas while we sat tied at the docks waiting for a start.   It’s not a matter of just saying I have my market and I can go out and supply to you. I would likely go out there and see that all my pots have been tampered with. At worst, the bouts cut off and a total loss to me.   We will get there. I know a frozen crab is stringy and a total loss compared to our fresh still wriggling market.   Stay with us and keep a demand up for quality. That’s the help we need. The small suppliers also need the help. They are standing idle while the cartel takes there market. Captain Barry

Hi all. this year we are limited on our season. we will have 7 Days from May 1st and then we will have a long spell until July 26th until Mid October. Salmon will be in short supply this year due to National Marine Fisheries method of forecasting stock abundance. The reality is, there will be plenty of fish out there due to the success of our net pen releases and barging of the smolt. Captain Barry.

Captain Barry here, We are nearly ready to role into another Crab season. This year looks like a full season without the holdups that have restricted our last 2 years. We are doing some work on this web site to have online orders as part of our structure in order for you to get your Crab booked and line free pickup from the dock. Recreational Crab fisherman are bringing in nice large jumbos, 2 pound crab are looking a average size. Stay tuned here as we approach our busy season and gear up for dock sales. Let’s get crabby!!!!        

The astronomical spring starts this Sunday, March 20th, but even more exciting is the news that Bay Area crabs will once again be available for sale on the docs at Half Moon Bay starting Saturday, March 26th.  So, come on down to the docks and get your favorite Bay Area treat!  Order by texting to Captain Barry at 7072081706@pm.sprint.com via email or 7072081706 via your  phone.

Salmon caught before the commercial salmon season closes from Pigeon Point(San Mateo Co.) south to Point Sur (Monterey Co.) From June 1 to July 4 to allow the salmon to return to the rivers for spawning. California’s historic drought enters its fourth year, chinook salmon are under duress. Dry winters take a big toll on the fish, also known as king salmon, which need plenty of cold water to make their way out to sea as juveniles and return to lay eggs as adults. The salmon have for many years had to compete with Central Valley agriculture for water. It’s a David vs. Goliath battle. California chinook salmon fishermen unloaded their catch for nearly $23 million in 2013. Central Valley farmers generate billions of dollars in sales every year. But the fight for water will only get fiercer as the drought persists. Jon Rosenfield, conservation biologist for the Bay Institute, said winter- and spring-run chinook — smaller salmon populations that are protected under endangered species laws — will likely die off in coming years unless state and federal water managers allocate more water to the Sacramento River and its tributaries. “We are on a countdown to extinction,” Rosenfield said. Meanwhile, the fall-run chinook’s numbers could plummet to the point that commercial fishermen are barred from catching them, Rosenfield said. State and federal hatchery programs have enabled the fall spawning season to persist. Fishermen and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have bolstered those initiatives in recent years with a variety of new projects to truck or float juvenile salmon from inland hatcheries to the bay and ocean. Transporting the smolts protects them from almost certain death in the increasingly tepid and shallow Sacramento channel.