SAN FRANCISCOCrab Fishers in San Francisco have joined the strike against Pacific Choice Seafood, who have dropped their prices 25 cents per pound for fresh Dungeness crab. The act was in solidarity with other fishermen, as San Francisco’s buying prices remain at $3 per pound instead of the $2.75 that fishermen in Humboldt Bay are subjected to.

The safety of consuming the Dungeness crab was cleared by the California Department of Public Health on November 15, after warnings to avoid the bottom-dwellers due to the presence of the poisonous neurotoxin, domoic acid found in testing.

Pacific Choice Seafood is located on Humboldt Bay in Eureka. The company was established in 1941 and celebrated its 75th anniversary last October.

Lorne Edwards, president of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association, stated in an interview with the Press Democrat that, “there’s going to be no crabbing from any port from Bodega Bay to the Washington-Canada border.”

Those on strike hope to gain back the original $3 price per pound that was originally agreed upon in the trade market.

The strike began on Wednesday, December 28 in parts of the coast, and was joined on Friday, December 30 by San Francisco crab fishers.

According to reports, Ken Bates, the Vice President of Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, believes the price cut could lessen the income of each boat by $7,000 to $10,000 over the next few months. Even though the strike began during a busy season, Bates expects the outcome to outweigh the loss of business over the holidays.