SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - There is no crab for Christmas because of shortage on the West Coast.
The last 100 pounds of Dungeness crabs are already sold to Christmas pre-orders at Point Loma Seafood and there’s no more coming, according to general manager Terry Sizemore.
“We sell about 1,000 pounds of these (crabs) on Christmas alone. So, it’s pretty disappointing for a lot of people,” said Sizemore.
Who knew crab meat was so popular for the holidays? Some customers are a little bummed out but not too crabby.
“We looked at several recipes that called for crab meat. I thought there would be crab meat but it looks like there is a shortage and it's hard to find exactly what you want,” said customer Leslie Mikucki.
Parts of Northern California remain closed to commercial crab fishing because testing showed soft shells, poor quality meat or elevated levels of domoic acid.
In Oregon, the opening of Dungeness crab season has been delayed for the same reason. “Oregon has pushed their opening up past the first of January so that's normally open by now. There's just not a of product on the market right now,” said Sizemore.
If you still have your heart set on shellfish for the holidays, there's always lobster, king crab or Mexican stone crab.
Or, you could go with a more traditional holiday dinner. “I suggest if you don't like fish but you do like crabs, grabbing a nice prime rib would be a great way to go,” said Sizemore.
The opening of commercial Dungeness crab season has been delayed until January 15 in both Oregon and Northern California. Commercial Dungeness crab fishing currently is open south of the Mendocino county line in California.