Fisherman’s Wharf Fire Affects SF Fishing Industry (Updated)

Update: There’s a GoFundMe account to support the crab fishermen.

That shocking fire at San Francisco’s Pier 45 – part of the bustling Fisherman’s Wharf area – had a major impact on the city’s commercial fishing industry, per this report from the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Pier 45 is the heart and soul of commercial fishing out of the Bay Area,” said Larry “Diver Duck” Collins, who runs the San Francisco Community Fishing Association and is a former president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. “To take a hit like this, it’s a bad one. Most people don’t think about where their salmon, crab or black cod come from, but that’s where: It’s Pier 45.” …

The blaze destroyed up to $5 million worth of fishing gear, according to Collins, who estimated that 7,000 crab traps, 2,000 shrimp traps and 500 black cod traps were lost. He said the numbers could even be far higher, since the port three months ago largely changed the function of Shed C.

The loss of so much gear, combined with the coronavirus pandemic that’s already threatened seafood sales, has become a real cause for concern among fishermen, as the report suggests:

“I just can’t even believe it. I could have never imagined that this would happen,” said Nick Krieger, a local fisherman who was speaking from a boat covered in black ash from melted rubber. “There’s absolutely no way that I’ll be able to replace what I lost for multiple years.”