SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — Mayor London Breed, Port Commission President Kimberly Brandon and Supervisor Aaron Peskin announced Tuesday a financial relief package to assist San Francisco crabbers impacted by last month’s fire at Pier 45 to ensure crab season occurs this year.
On May 23, a fire ripped through San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf resulting in more than 30 crabbers losing 8,000 crab, shrimp and black cod traps pots.
The fire engulfed Shed C in flames and completely destroyed a majority of the crab community pots — essentially bringing the local industry to a halt.
“Many crabbers were already struggling financially due to COVID-19, and the loss of their equipment in the fire at Pier 45 has made an already challenging situation even more difficult,” Mayor Breed said.
“The crabbing and fishing industry in our city is part of what makes San Francisco so special and we want to help them recover from the loss of their equipment. Our planned financial assistance will help them get back on their feet and ready for the fall crabbing season.”
Supervisor Peskin will help lead a $500k fundraising campaign aimed to provide down payment assistance funds for crabbers.
The down payment assistance funds ensures crabbers will be able able to place orders immediately to obtain trap pots in time for the next Dungeness Crab Season, expected to open this fall.
“The Fisherman’s Wharf crabbing and fishing community have always been essential to San Francisco’s identity and economy,” Supervisor Peskin said.
“Part of that identity is a City that knows how to take care if its own. We are asking San Franciscans who refuse to let this crisis erase all our beloved iconic institutions to dig deep and support our Pier 45 Crab Relief efforts.”
Port staff will also be working with Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association to create a loan payment program with favorable terms to support the purchase of the trap pots to keep the fishing community employed.
The down payment assistance grants will provide up to $40k for each fisher’s down payment on replacement crab traps for the upcoming Dungeness crab season.
Crabbers who lost pots and traps in Shed C are Port tenants and are active fishers will be eligible for financial support.
“The Port is looking forward to working with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Crab Boat Owners to help this historic community and keep people employed,” President of the San Francisco Port Commission, Kim Brandon said.
“We know many essential workers are struggling to make ends meet and we recognize the hardship of losing equipment vital to earning a living. We need to ensure we have a crab season as our restaurants and retail along the Wharf reopen from the COVID-19 shelter in place.”
The Port and OEWD will present the relief program to the Port Commission on Jul. 14.
OWED will be administering the program which will provide access to the down payment assistance funds and 0 percent interest loans to purchase new trap pots.
Crabbers will need to complete a simple application and document their losses to be eligible for the down payment assistance funds.
Grant payments will be available within two weeks of launching the program along with a the receipt of a complete application.
Funds will be paired with technical assistance and will not prevent recipients from receiving grants or loans from additional city sources.
“The fishing community is integral part of Port community,” sPort of San Francisco Executive Director, Elaine Forbes said.
“We want to assist this vital maritime industry in its recovery, and to ensure that the process of getting ready for November’s crabbing season is as painless as possible given these very challenging and uncertain times. We stand with our fishing community in recognition of the vital role this essential workforce plays in the Fisherman’s Wharf experience and in our economy.”
In addition, the Port of San Francisco is working to identify new storage space for the crabbers and is considering a rent relief package for tenants.
The Port has also reached out to its insurance company to see if any of this loss is eligible for insurance recovery.
“The fire at Pier 45 felt like a final blow to San Francisco fishing community,” President of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association, John Barnett said.
“We are struggling to make ends meet in this pandemic and just got back to work when the fire broke out. We are surprised and grateful that City leadership and the Port of San Francisco see what we are going through and are offering to support us through this time. We just want to get back on the water and earn a living but right now, we need help to do so.”
San Franciscos’s Fisherman’s Wharf is the center of Northern California’s commericial and sport fishing fleets.
Pier 45 houses the West Coast’s largest concentration of commercial fish processors and distributors — housed in adjacent sheds to the one that burned last months are currently undergoing cleaning and safety inspections.