Fishing in areas affected by San Francisco Bay oil spill halted amid health concerns

SAN FRANCISCO — Fishermen here are packing up and heading home after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suspended all commercial and sport fishing in areas affected by last week's San Francisco Bay oil spill.

The decision likely will make the biggest dent in the highly anticipated commercial season for Dungeness crab, which was scheduled to start in the bay Thursday but has now been postponed for at least 2 1/2 weeks amid health concerns.

The delicacy, available up and down the West Coast, is enjoyed both by tourists and residents who serve crab alongside the turkey with their Thanksgiving dinner.

"It will set us back quite a bit," said Art Romine, 38, a crabber who planned to return home to Newport, Ore., after hearing about the suspension Tuesday.

"We can't be bringing in crabs that are possibly toxic," he said. "That wouldn't be good for the market at all. People don't want to buy toxic food."

The 58,000-gallon spill occurred when a cargo ship suffered a gash in its hull after colliding with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in heavy fog last week. The governor promised to investigate the cause of the spill and the Coast Guard's response.

The pilot of the ship said he immediately reported the presence of oil in the water, but cleanup crews didn't arrive on the scene for nearly 90 minutes. A Coast Guard log places a skimming vessel at the scene in 80 minutes.

Coast Guard officials defended their response as "by the book," but concede mistakes in their communication with the public. Initial reports set the spill at just 140 gallons; the Coast Guard waited hours after learning it was much larger before notifying local officials.

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal probe and have interviewed members of the crew about the events leading up to the crash. The harbor pilot who was guiding the ship through the bay toward open water has not been subpoenaed in that investigation, his lawyer said.

A day after the spill, the governor praised the Coast Guard for taking "immediate action." But speaking Tuesday, Schwarzenegger seemed to change course.

The oil spill was the result of "unbelievable human failure," he said. "Then on top of it, it takes that long to react to the oil spill so by the time the next day comes around, the oil is all over the bay."

Later, after a briefing by Coast Guard officials at their command center, Schwarzenegger sidestepped questions about whether he was satisfied with the agency's response.

"I'm not an investigator," he said.