Quick Take
The California Department of Fish & Wildlife has delayed the start of the Dungeness crab commercial season for the third time, until at least Dec. 21, citing continued presence of humpback whales and the recent death of an endangered leatherback sea turtle.
On Thursday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season a third time. The delay is due to the continued presence of migrating humpback whales off the California coast, and the death of an endangered leatherback sea turtle due to entanglement in lost Dungeness crab gear from a previous season.
The next risk assessment will take place on or around Dec. 21, at which time the CDFW will reevaluate available data to see whether the commercial crab season can open. A restriction on recreational crab-trap fishing from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point in Monterey County remains in effect through the next risk assessment, as well.
However, Dungeness crab from other locales can be found in Santa Cruz County at businesses like H&H Fresh Fish Co, which stocks live crabs from the state of Washington.
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with support from fishermen, is doing the right thing to protect endangered whales and sea turtles from entanglement, providing them with safe opportunities to feed and swim off the California coast,” Geoff Shester, California campaign director and senior scientist for ocean advocacy organization Oceana, said in a media release Thursday. “The entanglement of the Pacific leatherback turtle is a devastating blow to the declining population off California, and we simply must do more to prevent these entanglements.”
Oceana is anticipating that the expected El Niño conditions this winter will drive the humpback whales even closer to shore as they follow available prey like anchovies into shallower waters, potentially putting them in harm’s way if crab traps are present.
A history of delays
The Dungeness crab season traditionally opens in California in November, but has been delayed every year for the past six years because of the threat crab traps pose to migrating humpback whales. The whales are listed as endangered, and travel from the northern Pacific Coast south to breeding grounds off the coast of Mexico in the fall.
In late October, the opening was pushed back from Nov. 15 to Dec. 1. In mid-November, a new assessment date was scheduled for Dec. 7.
Local impact
The postponement continues a woeful stretch for Santa Cruz’s fishing industry, which in addition to consistent annual delays on crabbing also suffered the loss of the commercial salmon season this year.
“It’s really bad,” Tim Obert told Lookout in November of the conditions for local commercial fishermen. Obert serves as president of the Santa Cruz Commercial Fishermen’s Association and sits on the state’s Dungeness Crab Task Force. “This is the worst year I’ve seen before. We have always had the salmon to back up the crab.”
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