Louis Jackson, owner of the Fresh Fish Company, said that it had become increasingly difficult to source the species in recent years.
He also welcomed proposals which, if approved, would lead to the minimum size of crab that is allowed to be caught rising from 14cm to 15cm.
Mr Jackson said: ‘As for the reason why [the shortage], no one really knows. There has been some talk about rising water temperatures but it goes down to that old adage that it is more likely than not overfishing.
‘There has never been a quota, which seems a bit odd given that you have some of these big boats out in the English Channel.
‘I would put it down to the species being over-exploited. Some of the big boats in the English Channel are going out and pulling up thousands of pots. They are not Jersey vessels. They fish right up the coast of England, along with some French vessels. There are several large ones in Guernsey too.’
Mr Jackson added that he thought more fishermen were now targeting lobster throughout the year instead which risked putting more pressure on stocks of lobster.
‘It is definitely having an impact on Jersey fishermen’s livelihoods – there is no doubt about it,’ he said.
‘From July onwards most fishermen fished for crab but they tend to stay with lobsters now, which is putting more pressure on them as they do not give them a break. I do not blame them though as they do need to make a living.’
The fishmonger added that the dwindling supply of the shellfish had led to its price almost doubling over the course of the past decade from between £2 and £2.50 to £4 per kilo.
‘It does hurt our business as it is not there to buy so we cannot process it and the price of crab has doubled in the last 12 months so it is a shame from everyone’s point of view. It is not like the fishermen are doing any better out of it,’ he said.
‘I do not know what is going to happen or how it is going to pan out. I do not see it getting better for the foreseeable future.’
Dominic Jones, director of JPRestaurants, whose businesses include Jersey Crab Shack and Oyster Box, said that although he did not dispute that there may be a shortage, the lack of availability of chancre crab was a result of the Island’s lucrative European export market.
‘It is extremely difficult to source. The problem is that most of it gets exported out of Jersey – I do not think the Island is consuming more than what is caught,’ he said.
‘Only a tiny percentage of the fish here is local and it is a big bugbear for me.
‘If we could go and buy more seafood locally there would inevitably be a higher value attached to it and, with tourism, we are always talking about our locally-sourced seafood but it is not always available.’
Francis Binney, from the States Fisheries and Marine Resources Panel, said that specialist crab scientists across the north Atlantic were currently trying to work out what was causing the shortage.
‘Landings of brown crab have gone down significantly over the last few years. It was a problem identified by the fishing fleet, which was then recognised by us.
‘In 2012, 500 tonnes of crab was landed whereas in 2017 there was only 310 tonnes. We are just waiting for more data to come in for 2018 but it looks like that trend will continue.’
Mr Binney added that the fishing fleet had called for the catching of soft-shell crabs – which had recently shed their shells – along with an increase in the size of crabs that are allowed
to be caught, from 14 to 15cm.
The latter is due to be debated in the States in May.
‘This is hugely important as it is the most common stock and the most valuable stock – it is the biggest part of local fishermen’s catch.
‘It is not just a local shortage – it is in Brittany, Normandy and Cornwall as well, so it is not something that we can directly manage. We have to work together as a community with other nations and states for the crab’s and everyone’s collective benefit.’
