About 150 boats set out midday Tuesday from San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay minutes after owners agreed on a price with processors. The boats are expected to get back today loaded with thousands of pounds of crabs for fish markets.
Fishermen will get $1.85 a pound for their catch under the Tuesday agreement, but consumers will pay an average of $5 a pound. State Department of Fish and Game scientists predict an abundant Central California crab population this year.