Commercial crab season underway a month late

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - It was the moment Dungeness crab lovers have been waiting to see: crab boats unloading thousands of pounds of crab on Monday at Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay. 

With the delayed opening of commercial crab season on Sunday, many boats returned with their catch. 

Wholesalers were busy weighing the crab beore it goes out to stores. 

"The weather was kind of bad in the opener, but it is looking good. Guys are getting out there and bringing it in," said wholesaler Todd Damorasch. 

Fisherman tell us the crab looks pretty high quality and that this could be a good season. 

"We are all hopeful. The indications are looking good. I think it will be good," said fisherman Robert Giskens. 

Crab season was late this year because the California Fish and Game delayed the opening a month to protect migrating whales from getting entangled in fishing nets. 

That decision meant no local crab for Thanksgiving and commercial fisherman took a financial hit. 

"It's all for a good cause. We didn't want to catch a whale. That's the last thing we wanted to do. And were a lot out here so we delayed for that reason. And now here we get to go," said Giskens. 

The recreational crab season began November 2 and the crab have been getting good reviews, usually a good sign for the commercial fishermen. 

"We've been happy. We've been getting 15-25 crabs per pot and that is exceptional," said sport fishing boat captain Tom Mattusch. 

Some people came to Pillar Point to buy crab directly off the fishing boats. 

"Every year we always come here to buy the first crab," said Ciri Bosque of San Francisco. 

Fishermen as of now are getting $3 a pound for the crab. 

Some markets we checked are selling them for between $7 and $9 a pound, which is about the same as last year.