After weeks of delay, due to the presence of migrating whales off the Central California coast, Monterey Bay’s Dungeness crab season is set to open Thursday, Dec. 16.

Our new Community Seafood Program partners with fishermen to provide seafood to nonprofits that prepare food for community members in need.

Women are an integral part of our fishing community, often running the family businesses that bring seafood from the ocean to our tables. Meet Heidi Rhodes, Jenn Gerard Lovewell, and Kristen Deyerle, who all work in local family fishing businesses.

In its most basic sense, trolling is the method of drawing lines with baited hooks or lures behind a boat for fish to bite. While this sounds simple, it’s far from it. All commercially harvested king salmon in California are caught by trollers, as are most albacore tuna.

This Monterey County Weekly story is a few years old, but it describes a Dungeness crab fisherman's routine in vivid detail. Here's an excerpt, but check out the full story by following the link to the Monterey County Weekly.