California Dungeness Crab Fishery to Close off Central Coast; Northern Calif Remains Open
Whale Entangled in Dungeness Crab Gear This Month Is Evidence Fishery Stayed Open Too Long
Press Release Date: April 21, 2025
Location: MONTEREY, CALIF.
Contact:
Ashley Blacow | email: ablacow@oceana.org | tel: 1.831.643.9220
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) announced it will close the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries using vertical fishing lines south of Pt Arena at the Sonoma/Mendocino County border (fishing zone 3) effective at 6pm on May 1. Waters in fishing zones 4-6 south of Pigeon Point — including Monterey Bay and Morro Bay — closed to vertical line crabbing on April 15. Vertical lines will continue to be allowed in zones 1-2 with the 25% gear reduction and a 30-fathom (180 foot) depth restriction in place, including areas off Eureka and Crescent City. Innovative, pop-up fishing gear is being used in fishing zone 4 and outside 30 fathoms in zone 3 by some fishermen to continue harvesting Dungeness crab in a way that does not pose harm to whales under Experimental Fishing Permits approved by the California Fish and Game Commission. Bay Area fishermen may begin fishing with pop-up gear in all of zone 3 starting May 2 following the season closure to conventional gear.
Confirmed whale entanglements off the West Coast reached a six-year high of 36 entanglements in 2024, and two humpback whales were entangled in California commercial Dungeness crab gear this month alone. A juvenile humpback whale is currently entangled in California Dungeness crab gear in Monterey Bay. According to Science Advisors on the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, the whale was sighted in Monterey Bay on April 9 not entangled and then sighted on April 14 entangled in gear. This incident follows a successful disentanglement by NOAA’s Large Whale Entanglement Response Network on April 5 of a humpback whale entangled off Monterey Bay in multiple sets of California Dungeness crab gear from the current season and the 2023-2024 season.
Dr. Geoff Shester, Oceana’s California campaign director and senior scientist and a member of the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, released the following statement:
“Sadly, this month’s entanglement of a humpback whale in California Dungeness crab gear was 100% avoidable and is clear evidence the fishery was not closed soon enough, as we feared. Year after year, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery has stayed open too late into the season, resulting in excessive entanglements of humpback whales in vertical fishing lines as the animals return to feed in the highly productive waters off the state, putting the long-term prospects for both the fishery and recovering whale populations at risk. California’s plan to save whales from becoming entangled in crabbing gear does not go far enough to protect these majestic animals. Despite this, the Department is alarmingly slated to weaken the current regulations in upcoming seasons and the Trump Administration’s latest cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is indefinitely postponing the inclusion of state managed Dungeness crab fisheries from the scope of its upcoming West Coast Take Reduction Team charged with reducing whale entanglements. With the current level of entanglements and no Take Reduction Plan, there is no path for the Dungeness crab fishery to come into compliance with federal law.”
“The Department should establish a permanently shortened fixed season start and end date for conventional crabbing gear moving forward — better protecting whales from entanglement and providing fishermen with certainty about the duration of their fishing season — establish strict multi-year limits on entanglements, and ensure pop-up gear stays on track to be authorized across the entire California Dungeness crab fleet next spring after areas are closed to conventional gear. The Trump Administration should immediately reverse course to restore funding to NOAA and its Take Reduction Team to protect wildlife and enable the Dungeness crab and spot prawn fisheries to follow the law. We could see the existing crisis tailspin unless we quickly change course.”
Background:
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), roughly 75 percent of reported whale entanglements are fatal as whales can drag heavy fishing gear for months, hindering their ability to dive and feed. This can result in malnutrition, starvation, infection to damaged flukes and even severed appendages and drowning.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that four humpback whales were confirmed entangled in California commercial Dungeness crab gear last year, with an additional ten humpbacks entangled in unidentified fishing gear that may be California Dungeness crab gear. Since the current regulations were implemented in 2020, humpback whale entanglements have remained several times higher than federal law allows.
Of all West Coast fisheries, the California Dungeness crab fishery is most commonly associated with confirmed entanglements, sparking efforts to reduce interactions between the fishing gear and whales. Additionally, scientists estimate that the number of reported entangled whales is only 10 percent of the actual number of whales entangled.
Pop-up fishing gear (also called “ropeless” or “on-demand”) is a proven way to prevent whale entanglements while providing additional fishing opportunities. Rather than a line connecting a surface buoy to a trap on the seafloor that can hang in the water column for multiple days, pop-up gear stores the rope and buoy with the trap on the seafloor until an acoustic release mechanism is triggered from the fishing boat that sends the buoy to the surface. Last spring pop-up fishing gear was tested by 19 commercial California Dungeness crab fishermen who had a 98% success rate in gear retrieval and landed a total of 292,000 pounds of crab valued at approximately $1.5 million. This was during a time when waters off central California were closed to conventional crab gear to prevent whale entanglements. Following expanded testing this spring, the gear will be ready for authorization by the Department of Fish and Wildlife which would make it available to the entire commercial crabbing fleet next spring.
For information on the most recent whale entanglement, response efforts, or confirmed whale entanglement numbers, please contact NOAA Public Affairs Officer Michael Milstein at michael.milstein@noaa.gov.
CDFW information on all humpback whale and sea turtle entanglements since implementation of the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program is available here.
Figure. California Dungeness crab fishing zones.
To learn more about Oceana’s campaign for whale safe oceans please visit www.oceana.org/WhaleSafeOceans
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 325 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit Oceana.org to learn more.
