Saving Seafood

Whales Off California Coast Delay Commercial Crab Season

November 25, 2022 — For the fourth year in a row, the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California will be delayed to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines, it was announced Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it was delaying the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins Nov. 15, until further notice for waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Authorities first announced a delay late last month. The situation will be reassessed on or before Dec. 7 and if conditions allow commercial crabbing could be permitted on Dec. 16, the department said.

Read the full article at NBC San Diego

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab season delayed due to concerns for whale safety and meat quality

November 23, 2022 — Dungeness crab fans may find the holiday staple more difficult to find in northern California after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced delays to the commercial fishing season.

According to CDFW, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3-6 will remain delayed due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement with lines and traps in this fishery.

Read the full article at KRCR

OREGON: Crab quality delays season open

November 22, 2022 — Along Oregon’s coast, commercial crabbers will wait a few weeks longer than expected to make their first catch of the season.

It has to do with crab quality.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced Friday that commercial crabbers could expect a delay to the December 1 open of Dungeness crab season.

The projected opening date, December 16, could also be delayed if crab quality hasn’t improved.

ODFW says the crabs have not yet reached meat fill and meat quality standards.

Caren Braby Marine Resources Program Manager for ODFW also stressed product safety.

“We test for biotoxins that come just naturally from plankton that grow in the ocean, and if there’s any sign of those biotoxins, we delay the season for that as well.”

Domoic acid found in crab guts during this year’s testing is harmful to marine life, but close monitoring by ODFW prevents the toxin from impacting people with potentially fatal symptoms.

Read the full article at KATU

OREGON: Climate change is impacting the health and population of valuable Dungeness crab in Oregon

November 17, 2022 — Researchers at Oregon State University are working to find out how climate change is affecting marine life along the Oregon coast – specifically Dungeness crab and krill.

“The ocean is changing, and we want to make sure that we know what is coming ahead,” said marine ecologist Francis Chan. “And we want to know what are the levers that we might pull now or in the future to make sure the fisheries stay really productive.”

Read the full article at KATU

Dungeness crab dying amid low oxygen levels linked to climate change

November 8, 2022 — Terry “Chop” Arnold Jr. remembers the first few times he climbed in his dad’s 36-foot fishing boat at an old log boom, near the northernmost tip of Washington.

“I started going out with him when I was 10,” said Arnold, a Makah tribal fisherman. “And I never looked back.”

For decades, Chinook salmon were plentiful along the beach, he said. But in the ‘90s, the Arnolds had to troll as far as 30 miles offshore to find fish.

Fishing for many species has proved pretty steady over the years for Arnold. But lately, there have been seasons where there’s little or no crab, he said.

Not too far down the coast, piles of dead Dungeness crab washed ashore on Kalaloch Beach this summer. Meanwhile, fishers have shared stories about hoisting up dead or suffocating crabs in their pots, said Jenny Waddell, research ecologist with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

Now, scientists are working to understand how climate change is affecting Dungeness crab, which is both culturally significant and a pillar of Washington’s seafood industry. From 2014 to 2019, coast-caught Dungeness was worth an annual average of $45 million.

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a $4.2 million award for a four-year study on Dungeness crab and krill that will bring together researchers and experts from coastal tribes, public universities and federal agencies from Northern California to Washington.

Climate change has been exacerbating existing marine environmental stressors through changes in temperatures, ocean chemistry and seasonal cycles.

Read the full article at The Seattle Times

Dungeness crab die-off underway along US West Coast

November 7, 2022 — An important species of crab found primarily along the West Coast is fighting off a combination of stressors that experts at the North Atlantic and Atmospheric Administration say has fishermen finding piles of dead shellfish, and the impacts are affecting the economy.

Dungeness crabs are typically found along water beds, and their harvest can be worth a quarter-billion dollars annually.

Read the full article at Fox 6

Dungeness crab fishery along California coast closed due to whale entanglements

April 8, 2022 — All commercial Dungeness crab fishery along California’s coast will be closed this month after humpback whales were found entangled in fishing gear, wildlife authorities said.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that fishery zones from the Sonoma-Mendocino county life north to the Oregon state line will close at noon on April 20. The closure comes after the department had already announced that commercial crab traps would have to be removed from fishery zones from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line down south to the U.S.-Mexico border by Friday.

“We received reports of additional humpback whale entanglements and moved quickly to close the fishery to protect migrating humpback whales that are just starting to return to California waters,” said Director Bonham.

Read the full story at KRON4

 

California orders an April 8 end to Dungeness crab season in Bay Area, Central Coast

March 28, 2022 — The commercial Dungeness crab-fishing season started late for the Bay Area and Central Coast regions. And it’s ending early.

On Friday afternoon, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ruled that the season must close April 8 to protect migrating humpback whales. Two whales have recently become entangled in crab-fishing gear, one off the San Mateo County coast and one in Monterey Bay.

Until then, the state is asking all fishermen and mariners to keep an eye out for entangled whales and report them to the U.S. Coast Guard so that a “disentanglement response team” can be sent out to remove the gear.

“The past few seasons have been difficult for fishing families, communities and businesses, but it is imperative that we strike the right balance between protecting humpback whales and providing fishing opportunity,” Charlton H. Bonham, CDFW director, said in a statement about his decision.

Read the full story at the Mercury News

CALIFORNIA: Crab fishing closures recommended after whale entanglements

March 23, 2022 — Two humpback whales were tangled in fishing gear off central California in recent days and state wildlife officials are recommending commercial Dungeness crab fishing be suspended to reduce the risk of more entanglements as the whales migrate north.

One humpback was caught in commercial crab nets off Moss Beach, just north of Half Moon Bay, on March 17. Two days later, a second whale was spotted trailing a set of crabbing lines in Monterey Bay, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.

Wildlife officials on Monday recommended commercial Dungeness crab fishing from Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco, to the Mexican border stop on April 8. The closures wouldn’t affect recreational Dungeness crab fishing.

Read the full story at the Sacramento Bee