SF Bay Area Crab Season is Here!
From our friends at Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association (PCFMA), the article has been updated for the 2021 season.
The crab pots are out and the crustaceans are making their way to SF Bay Area plates– the long-awaited Dungeness crab season is underway along the San Mateo coastline. Each year, from late-November to May* look for one of the Bay Area’s most iconic foods, fresh Dungeness crab at your local farmers’ market.
The Dungeness crab takes its name from Dungeness Bay, east of Port Angeles on the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, in North-Western Washington State, and most crab is found from the San Mateo to SF Bay Area coastline, as well as north California coast from Point Reyes to areas off Eureka and Crescent City.
Since the region's crab population uses the San Francisco Bay as their breeding ground and nursery, we continue to monitor if the California drought will have any effect on the abundance of crab and the eco-system in the estuary. Only the male of the species can be caught, whether by commercial crab fishermen or by non-commercial crabbers so this helps keep the species available with such high demand.
In the 2013-14 season, Dungeness crab season brought new regulations seeking to level the playing field for commercial fishermen. A new law signed by CA Governor Brown set trap limits between 175 and 500 pots, depending on a fisherman’s catches from previous years. Advocates for SB 369, as the bill is known, said the limits would prevent large out-of-state boats with thousands of traps from decimating the crab population early in the season.
* Editor's update: In 2021, commercial Dungeness crab season in Half Moon Bay and Pacifica started later than usual in mid-January. Environmental wildlife concerns and COVID-related negotiations prevented an earlier start. But everyone is happy to get back to serving up freshly caught crab.
Crab Stuffed Portobellos
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed and chopped finely
1 large bunch fresh spinach, stems trimmed
1 egg
6 to 8 ounces lump crab meat, cooked, cleaned
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs or crushed club crackers
3 to 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion salt
Directions
Sauté spinach until wilted but still bright green. Drain crabmeat well.
Mix together spinach, egg, parmesan cheese, chopped mushroom stems, half the mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs crabmeat, garlic powder and onion salt.
Stuff into mushroom caps. Top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake in a shallow roasting pan at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until mushrooms are slightly soft and cheese is melted and browned.
