California Funds Ropeless Fishing Gear to Save Whales and Turtles from Entanglements - Oceana USA

Victory | February 29, 2024

California Funds Ropeless Fishing Gear to Save Whales and Turtles from Entanglements

The California Ocean Protection Council authorized new funding to help prevent whale and sea turtles from becoming entangled in fishing gear, following campaigning by Oceana and its allies. This includes up to $650,000 to advance innovative “ropeless fishing gear” in the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery. This investment will help support 20 Dungeness crab fishers who received approval to test the whale-safe gear this spring. If the gear is successful, it could be authorized as soon as 2025 and allow fishing to continue in the springtime, when waters are closed to conventional gear because of the heightened risk of entanglements.