Oregon Commercial Crabbers Cautioned to Avoid Entangling Whales
Oceana urges decisive management action to protect endangered species, not voluntary advice
Press Release Date: January 31, 2025
Location: PORTLAND, ORE
Contact:
Ashley Blacow | email: ablacow@oceana.org | tel: 1.831.643.9220
Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) issued an advisory to the Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fleet due to the entanglement risk the fishing gear poses to whales migrating and feeding in the area. While the Department urges the fishing fleet to “remain vigilant and avoid setting gear in areas where whales are transiting or foraging to minimize risk of entanglement” the guidance is voluntary and insufficient to meaningfully reduce the risk of whales becoming entangled, seriously injured, or killed. The advisory comes on the heels of a humpback whale reported entangled in commercial crab gear on January 6 and follows a record high of four whale entanglements in Oregon commercial crab gear in 2024.
In response to today’s fleet advisory and the persistent threat of whale entanglements off the Oregon coast, Oceana campaign director and senior scientist, Ben Enticknap, issued the following statement:
“Advice to remain vigilant and keep tight lines is woefully insufficient to protect threatened and endangered whales from becoming fatally entangled in the Oregon commercial crab fishery. The number of whales entangled in Oregon crab gear has only increased since fishery managers first implemented risk reduction measures in 2021, which we knew were insufficient even at the time. Oregon fish and wildlife managers must act swiftly and decisively to implement a conservation plan that reduces whale entanglements, not one that maintains the status quo. This means closing fishing grounds to conventional crab gear when entanglement risk is high, allowing whale safe ‘pop-up’ fishing gears during these closures, and being adaptive to changing conditions.”
Preliminary data from the National Marine Fisheries Service demonstrates that the record high entanglement numbers off Oregon are consistent with an overall increase in whale entanglements in commercial fishing gear off the U.S. West Coast in 2024—with at least 34 whales entangled—the highest in six years. It is estimated that roughly 75% of confirmed whale entanglements result in serious injury and death, and that many more go undetected.
Background:
Humpback whales are the whale species most frequently entangled and killed in the vertical fishing lines used by the commercial crab fishery. There are two humpback whale populations off Oregon. One is listed as threatened and the other is endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This gear type also entangles gray whales, fin whales, orcas, and others that migrate and feed off the Oregon coast.
It is illegal under federal law to injure or kill an endangered or threatened species during commercial fishing activities without an “Incidental Take Permit.” While the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife drafted a Conservation Plan in 2021 as part of the process for applying for an Incidental Take Permit, that plan has not been finalized, meaning current entanglements in the Oregon crab fishery violate federal law. Current take levels are also high enough that they exceed legal conservation thresholds, and risk jeopardizing the recovery of the endangered humpback population.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a limited set of conservation measures intended to reduce whale entanglement risk in 2020. Yet since then, whale entanglements have not declined, which is a certain indicator that the state’s current conservation approach is not working.
Oceana requested the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopt stronger conservation measures when the Commission acted in 2020, then again when the Commission reviewed those measures in 2023. Each time the Oregon measures fell short of protecting whales from entanglement. Most recently, in December 2024, following the recent spike in whale entanglements, Oceana and its partners again requested the state take action to protect whales. While the state has not acted sufficiently, the National Marine Fisheries Service will be convening a “Take Reduction Team ” later this year intended to address the take of humpback and blue whales in the California, Oregon, and Washington Dungeness crab fisheries, the sablefish pot fishery, and the California spot prawn fishery.
Pop-up fishing gear is a potential avenue to allow continued whale safe fishing during spring and summer closures to conventional crabbing gear. It has been tested and shown to be successful in the California Dungeness crab fishery and in other regions but has not yet been tested off Oregon.
For more information on Oceana’s campaign to protect whales from entanglement and solutions for West Coast fisheries please visit: https://usa.oceana.org/our-campaigns/whale-safe-oceans/
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 300 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.
