Longtime Napans know that the time for local crab feed fundraisers is quickly approaching. A dozen or more philanthropic organizations in Napa County are scheduling events for January and February — with most organizers sticking with the same supplier year after year.

But since some of the crab for these events is typically sourced from the Bay Area, will the recent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay affect local fundraising efforts?

On Nov. 7, approximately 58,000 gallons of fuel poured into the San Francisco Bay after the Cosco Busan, a container ship, crashed into the Bay Bridge. The spill caused the deaths of thousands of birds, fish and other aquatic creatures, and threatened the livelihoods of Bay Area fishermen and crabbers. The spill occurred just around the traditional mid-November launch of the Dungeness crab season.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an order Nov. 14 to close fishing on all San Francisco Bay waters that were affected by the oil spill. Schwarzenegger lifted the order on Thursday, declaring fish, crab and most other commercial catches safe to eat.

Spirits, and prices, high

In spite of the spill, a crab feed for Napa’s Knights of Columbus, a Christian fraternal organization, is still scheduled for Jan. 12, said Bob Quinn, a longtime member of the group. The organization typically buys 300-400 pounds of crab from Browns Valley Market, he said, adding that the organization usually pays $2-$3 a pound for crab. “(Before the ban was lifted) we were told between $8 to $12 a pound. Whether that comes to fruition or not, that we don’t know.”

John Roche, ticket chairman for the crab feed and a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, said tickets are $45 this year, up $5 from last year’s price, in anticipation of paying a higher price for crab.

Jim Andrews, manager of Browns Valley Meats, said the recent oil spill affected his ability to purchase local crab. “We usually have crab at Thanksgiving time, but there was none available (from San Francisco Bay). ... But customers didn’t ask for it too much.” Andrews said crab orders usually increase in December and peak at Christmas.

Before the fishing ban was lifted, Andrews said he advised local crab feed organizers to hold off on setting ticket prices until the business knew when or whether they could get crab locally. Andrews, who said it is difficult to predict how much crab will cost later in the season, added that Browns Valley Market usually sells 5,000 pounds of crab each winter to fundraising coordinators at Justin-Siena High School, St. John’s and other organizations.

On Friday, the price for crab at Browns Valley Market was $8.99 per pound, according to Jerry Giovannoni, owner of the business. “We won’t see any (more) crab until probably Monday because they’ll drop their pots (Saturday) and can start actually harvesting them then.”

Giovannoni said customer demand for crab is “steady” and prices may hold steady or drop slightly next week as a result of the lift on the fishing ban.

George Santilena, owner of Buz’s Crab Seafood Market & Restaurant in Redding — another business that delivers crab for several Napa County feeds — said his business has recently gotten its crab from Washington instead of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Still, he said, the oil spill didn’t slow down business much because it is early in the crab season. “Most of the fundraisers are in mid-December through March or April, so it should not have an impact at all,” said Santilena, adding that he’s provided crab for the Vintage High, local Soroptimist groups and other Napa County organizations. Santilena said he attributes most increases in the cost of crab to rising fuel costs, not the temporary fishing and crabbing ban in the San Francisco Bay. Prices for crab bought for Napa County’s upcoming crab feeds will likely also be determined by supply and demand further into crabbing season, he said. While he said he typically sells crab for between $3.50 to $4 per pound, it is too early in the season to predict prices for January and February.

Usual sources

Ken Weigreff, governor of Napa Moose Lodge 516, said he paid around $4 per pound for crab last year. If crab prices increase, the lodge will probably raise crab feed ticket prices accordingly. In late November, he said, price quotes from his supplier were 18 percent higher than usual. The lodge’s first crab feed of 2008 is scheduled for late January and the organization typically needs between 400 and 500 pounds of crab to serve the 140 people who attend.

Denise Rossmiller, who uses a Bodega Bay supplier, is coordinator for the Skyline Park crab feed. She said the event is scheduled for Jan. 12 and she is paying between $4 and $4.50 per pound for crab this year. “Last year, we paid $3.85 a pound.” Last year, Skyline Park’s crab feed tickets were raised from $35 to $40 and event coordinators are considering raising the price to $45, she said.

Bob Saunders, a volunteer for the Vintage High School crab and pasta feed, said ticket prices this year are $50 — up $5 from last year — due to recent crab price increases. “As long as they go away satisfied and happy — and are likely to think of us again next year — whatever we make, we make,” he said. Proceeds from Vintage’s fundraiser, scheduled for Jan. 19, will go to athletic programs at the school, said Saunders, adding that the school always gets crab from the same supplier. “We have not had trouble getting crab, but we don’t get it locally. This was the 30th year for this event and from day one ... they went with Buz’s Crabs in Redding.”

Saunders said Vintage will order about 2,900 pounds of crab for its fundraiser. Last year, the school shelled out between $3.50 and $4 per pound for crab, but this year, he said, the school will pay at least $5 per pound.

Authorities say OK

Christina Mitchell, events director for Justin-Siena High School’s crab feed, said the school’s fundraiser is scheduled for Feb. 2 and proceeds will go to the school’s athletic department. Mitchell said for the past six years, the school has bought about 2,000 pounds of crab from Browns Valley Market, paying about $4 per pound last year. Tickets for the event are $55 this year, up slightly from previous years to compensate for rising costs of fuel.

Bill Burch, manager of Wine Country Wholesale Meats — a supplier for several local crab feeds — said most of his crab comes from an area near the Eureka coastline. Prices for cracked and cleaned crab at his store usually range from $4.50 to $4.90 per pound, but he said hasn’t gotten any crab shipments yet so it’s hard to say what prices will be later this year. Most of his crab feed clients don’t plan their events until January or February, he said.

The American Canyon Kiwanis club will have its crab feed as scheduled in March, Kiwanis members Charlie and Penny Johnson said this week.

The Kiwanians buy their crab from Eureka from a Sacramento vendor. They will pay $4 per pound — roughly $1 more than they did for this year’s event, Penny Johnson said.

About 400 people paid $40 to attend this year’s crab feed in 2007, raising about $29,000 for local charities, Johnson said. The Johnsons said the plan is to ask $40 per person again in 2008.

Locals who attend upcoming crab feeds in support of Napa schools and other worthy causes should not worry about the safety of their food, according to the state’s findings of crab samples taken from San Francisco bay after the oil spill.

“Samples collected by the Department of Fish and Game and analyzed by the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the California Department of Public Health, show that marine life in the Bay and coastal waters are fit for human consumption,” a press release from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s press office stated.

However, pending ongoing food safety monitoring, consumers should not eat mussels from Rodeo Beach and the Berkeley Pier — or eat shellfish or seafood with a suspicious smell or taste, according to Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

(Register Staff Writer Kerana Todorov contributed to this report.)