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SF’s Fishing Industry Devastated by Pier 45 Warehouse Fire

Millions of dollars worth of fishing equipment were destroyed and may disrupt dungeness crab season
By - posted 5/27/2020 No Comment

Thankfully no one was injured or killed, but SF Gate and KRON4 reported the sad news that the Warehouse fire has left San Francisco’s fishing industry devastated.

The massive fire erupted before dawn Saturday on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf wiped out the warehouse the size of a football field near the end of Pier 45.

The fire destroyed fishing gear used to deliver about two-thirds of the city’s fresh seafood, threatening to disrupt the upcoming Dungeness crab season (scheduled to start in mid-November), local fishermen said Sunday.

Larry Collins, who runs the San Francisco Community Fishing Association, estimates that thousands of crab, shrimp and black cod traps worth up to $5 million were lost in the blaze.

UPDATE: KQED reports the estimated loss is around $9 million.

Donate to help SF’s crab boat fisherman on GoFundMe

“Pier 45 is the heart and soul of commercial fishing out of the Bay Area,” Collins said. “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.”

San Francisco Fire units will remain at the site of the #SFPIER45 Fire throughout the week, as it continues to smolder and produce smoke due to, in part, the high volume of collapsed building materials. 

Read more about the report at SFGATE and KRON4.