California to shutter last open Dungeness crab fishing zones

(CN) — The remaining spots along California’s coast still open for commercial Dungeness crab fishing will close on June 20, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday.

The closure of the area between the California/Oregon border and the Sonoma/Mendocino county line stemmed from the entanglement of a humpback whale earlier this month. This area was the only one that remained open to commercial fisheries, as the area from the Sonoma/Mendocino line to the Mexico border closed in April.

Oceana, an ocean conservation group, said state and federal efforts to free the juvenile humpback haven’t yet worked.

“This unfortunate news of another humpback whale entangled in Dungeness crab gear dispels the narrative that whales don’t get entangled off Northern California,” said Caitlynn Birch, Oceana campaign manager and marine scientist, in a statement. “It is time to learn from these tragic entanglements, many of which could have been avoided.”

Oceana and other groups advocate for the use of alternative gear, which they say would reduce the number of entanglements.

Many fisheries use static lines that can wrap around whales’ mouths, fins and tails, leading to whales drowning, losing flippers or dying because of exhaustion.

Alternative gear, such as pop-up traps, uses bags or buoys that are triggered by remote control or sensors. Traps float to the surface, and lines aren’t needed.

Experimental fishing continues in Zones 3 through 5, from the Sonoma/Mendocino line to Point Conception, with 18 fishers making 114 landings since April 22 using pop-up and traditional longline gear. The program, according to the state, supports sustainable fishing through innovation.

“The distressing entanglement of a young whale off northern California underscores the urgent need for more protective measures and expanding the use of pop-up fishing gear,” said Francine Kershaw, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. “Pop-up fishing gear can allow whales and fishers to safely coexist and create a whale-safe seafood choice for Californians.”

Both Oceana and the council have urged the department to have a shorter winter season for conventional crab gear. The Center for Biological Diversity said California should have shuttered the use of vertical lines in crabbing months ago.

“How many more humpback whales have to be entangled in crab gear and die agonizing deaths before the state says enough is enough?” said Ben Grundy, oceans campaigner at the center, in a statement. “If California keeps allowing crab fishing when humpbacks are feeding just off the coast, it all but guarantees that more whales will be injured and killed. It’s reprehensible to keep subjecting humpbacks to entanglements when we have safe alternatives like pop-up gear.”

Managing the Dungeness crab industry while protecting marine life has been a joint effort. Over the past five years, the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group has held nearly 150 meetings and conducted more than 50 risk assessments and aerial surveys covering 20,000 miles of coastline. California has invested over $6 million in electronic gear monitoring, risk evaluation tools, and testing alternative gear to reduce entanglements of whales and sea turtles.