PHOTOS BY DON BEST
The docks at the Port of Garibaldi have been bustling as crabbers load pots and anticipate heading out for the start of the Dungeness crab season January 15th. Crab fishers can drop their pots on January 12th to allow them to soak (and fill up) before being able to pull them and bring in the bounty of our North Pacific Ocean – the Dungeness – on January 15th. The weather may present some challenges with an active weather system set to arrive later this week, which may keep seas at 16 feet or more through Friday, and the boats in Port. It’s always a waiting game, dependent upon so many variables — such is the life of the crab fisherman.
According to one of the crabbers as he loaded the boats, he noted that he was a month behind paying his mortgage and other bills. The season was delayed due to insufficient weight of the crab, and it’s not unusual to have a later start, but in recent memory, it’s never been later than this. Hopefully the storm blows through quickly as forecast and the crabbers are greeted with calm seas and on Monday, full pots.
Watch the Pioneer for more information as the season gets underway.
