Crab season isn’t yet crackin’

Put away those Saveur and Bon Appetit recipe clippings for crab entrees — it looks like the Bay Area Dungeness crab season has been delayed until further notice.

While it seemed promising that crab season would begin on Tuesday, it looks like we’re now in a good ole-fashioned standoff. The San Francisco Crab Boat Association is on strike against large seafood processors who buy their crab. According to Mel Wickliffe, a Dungeness wholesaler, the dispute is over money.

The association is demanding $2.50 per pound, a price that Wickliffe said was agreed upon by small local producers a long time ago. However, larger processors are holding out at $2 per pound.

In previous years, processors only paid $1.75 per pound.

Paul Johnson, owner of the Monterey Fish Market, said he suspects both parties will reach an agreement on Monday. But even then, the future doesn’t look good for those hoping for Thanksgiving crab dinners.