Dungeness crab season delayed again due to humpback whale entanglements, crab meat quality
The Dungeness crab season off the California coast has been pushed back a second time because of concerns over humpback whale entanglements with crab nets and poor crab meat quality, Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said Friday.
The Dungeness crab season was initially delayed in late October ahead of the scheduled Nov. 4 start date. The new restrictions announced Friday will impact both recreational and commercial crab fishing.
The new order continues the temporary recreational crab trap restriction from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) and expands the restriction to the California/Oregon state line to Cape Mendocino (Fishing Zone 1) due to the ongoing presence of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement from trap gear.
The recreational trap restriction for Fishing Zone 1 goes into effect on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, at 6 p.m. and will continue in Zones 1, 3 and 4 at least until the next risk assessment by officials on Dec. 7, 2023.
The restriction means recreational crabbers must remove all traps in Zone 1 by the time the restriction goes into effect. However, recreational crabbers that catch Dungeness crab by other methods -- including hoop nets and crab snares -- are allowed to use those methods during the temporary trap restriction. The use of recreational crab traps in Fishing Zones 2 and 5 is still allowed. Additionally, the Fleet Advisory issued for all Fishing Zones (1-6) for the recreational fishery remains in effect. CDFW encourages recreational crabbers to implement best practices as outlined by the department.
The CDFW has also cited poor crab meat quality test results for delaying the northern California commercial Dungeness crab season, which had been scheduled to open on Dec. 1, 2023, for Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties (Fishing Zones 1 and 2). The commercial Dungeness crab fishery in those zones will be delayed until at least 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, pending another round of meat quality testing.