November 13, 2020 — California fishermen expected to be geared up this week for the Nov. 15 Dungeness crab season opener. But with another autumn aggregation of humpback whales feeding close to shore – and tough new state rules to avoid gear entanglements – the fleet is sitting tight for two weeks.
That means no fresh crab for Thanksgiving, a California coast tradition. It’s the first pre-emptive delay ordered by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife under the recently finalized Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). Those regulations could result in shutting down the fishery if entanglements occur.
Delaying the Dungeness crab season off California’s central coast until Dec. 1 will probably allow enough time for for humpback whales to migrate out of the area, state wildlife officials say. They will assess the whale movements and risk for entanglements in fishing gear again in the central and northern coast areas before the rescheduled opening, said Fish and Wildlife director Charlton Bonham.
“The fleet has gone to great lengths to be more nimble in order to protect whales and turtles, and the results are promising,” Bonham said in announcing the decision Nov. 5. “This year for the first time in a long time it looks like we don’t have to worry about domoic acid, which is good news.”