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Crab boats tied up as strike extends up and down West Coast

Crab pots sit on a processing pier and the back of a boat at Fisherman's Wharf Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in San Francisco. Dungeness crab could be harder to come by if fishers from Canada to Northern California continue their strike over the purchase price. The strike started December 28 after Pacific Choice Seafood in Humboldt County, California, offered to pay $2.75 a pound for the tasty crustacean. Crabbers whose seasons had already opened had negotiated a price of $3 per pound. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Crab pots sit on a processing pier and the back of a boat at Fisherman's Wharf Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in San Francisco. Dungeness crab could be harder to come by if fishers from Canada to Northern California continue their strike over the purchase price. The strike started December 28 after Pacific Choice Seafood in Humboldt County, California, offered to pay $2.75 a pound for the tasty crustacean. Crabbers whose seasons had already opened had negotiated a price of $3 per pound. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

By Associated Press January 4, 2017 1 min read

SEATTLE (AP) – Dungeness crab could be harder to come by if hundreds of fishing boats remain tied up at docks from California to Washington state amid a dispute between crabbers and seafood processors over the price of the sought-after crustaceans.

The commercial Dungeness crab season along the West Coast opened in waves this year, with crabbers initially getting $3 a pound.

Ken Bates, vice president with the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, says one of the largest seafood processors dropped the price to $2.75 a pound to local fishermen just before Christmas.

He said Dungeness prices could go lower in following seasons if that lower price holds.