12/21/06 Crab for Christmas

King Crab for Christmas? Rich succulent King crab now sets you back about the price of a large Pizza as Cosco is selling them for only 10.99 a pound. Ah , there must be a catch, and there is! That is what it basically amounts to, " a catch" and whose. US crabbers verses Russian and our crabbers can't complete. The recent king crab price phenomena in our Supermarkets is a result of a Soviet experiment in the 1990's to transplant crab to the remote Barent Sea. The crab took to the cold waters like a "tick on a hound" frustrating the Norwegians who say the invasive species now could harm native fish. Our Puget Sound crabbers are frustrated as well, unlike the Russians they must comply with strict rules for sustainable harvest . So similar to the issues facing US produce, once again it is impossible for our crabbers compete when the Russian harvest yields more than double ours and is coupled with fickle US consumers . I will tell you what we are one family that will be feasting on US beef and Pacific NW Dungeness crab this Christmas..