Dungeness crab is selling for more than the price of lobster at Granville Island, where the cost of the West Coast delicacy has been driven up to record highs by a tight supply and insatiable demand from Asia.
"This is the first time I have ever seen anything like these prices," said Ray Ogura, of Seafood City at Granville Island, where live crab is selling for $20.90 a pound – a dollar per pound higher than Atlantic Lobster.
"And the end isn't in sight yet."
He said because the price has climbed so high so fast, Seafood City is not charging the full mark-up over wholesale.
"We are trying to keep prices reasonable."
The price has almost doubled over last year, Ogura said, when crab was selling retail for about $10 to $12 a pound.
Customers are not happy about the price, he said, but there are still lots of people buying.
At the nearby False Creek Fishermen's Wharf, rumours are circulating about crab selling in Shanghai restaurants for the equivalent of $80 a pound. The appeal of B.C. crab is the reputation this province has for pristine waters and sustainability. That resonates with wealthy Asian consumers who want only the best.
"Canadian Dungeness crab is definitely seen as a luxury product," said Vancouver fisherman Stewart McDonald.
McDonald, said most fishermen can't believe the prices they are now getting.
"You have low production in B.C. and high demand, and for whatever reason, in Asia they don't seem to be that price sensitive. The price keeps going up and they keep buying."
The skyrocketing price for crab is not expected to show up to the same degree in the B.C. spot prawn season, which opens May 10 at the False Creek Fishermen's Wharf, said McDonald, who fishes crab, prawns and salmon and sells some of his catch at the wharf. The key to crab's appeal in Asia is that it can easily be shipped live by air. The survival rate is 97%. Prawns, which are more delicate, don't survive the trip. The prawn price reflects local demand.
Crab fisherman Duncan Cameron, who has a boat in the Bella Bella region but was at the fishermen's wharf this week, said much of his catch goes directly to buyers who ship it to Shanghai.
"The last time I delivered, I got $16 a pound."
Cameron sells to a company that exports directly to Shanghai.
He said the Chinese market appears to be the price-setter. When it is strong, prices rise.
"We went up really high a month or so ago to $13 in China and then ran into a holiday there where they don't eat crab, and our price crashed. Now we have run up to $15 to $16 and that seems to be the ceiling."
A year ago, fishermen were getting around $6.50 a pound for crab in northern regions like Bella Bella. On the South Coast it had been as low as $3 to $4 a pound, while costs have risen for fishermen. This year's record highs are a welcome change.
The department of fisheries and oceans website shows 221 licensed crab fishermen in B.C., making it a relatively small sector of the fishery. However, there are a lot of wholesale buyers, permitting fishermen to shop around for the highest price. In 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are available, and the price was in the $4 range, the B.C. crab fishery generated $44 million.
