Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: Recreational crab season opens along the Sonoma Coast as state warns of biotoxin risk

November 3, 2025 — There’s a catch to this year’s crab season and it’s not just in the traps.

The recreational Dungeness crab season opened Saturday along the Sonoma Coast, but state officials are warning fishers about potentially dangerous levels of domoic acid in the crabs’ internal organs.

In a health advisory issued Oct. 24, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Public Health said unhealthy levels of the naturally occurring toxin have been found in the viscera, or the internal organs of the crab. Officials warned that cooking the crab does not destroy the toxin, advising fishers to not ingest any part of the viscera.

Domoic acid poisoning in humans can cause nausea, dizziness and in severe cases, even memory loss or death, public health officials cautioned.

Despite the warnings, recreational crabbers can still hit the seas, unlike Bodega Bay’s Dick Ogg and other commercial fisherman who have been sidelined following seven straight years of season delays to protect endangered marine life from entanglements.

For Ogg, who predicts the commercial season will once again not open until January, and other fishermen across the state, these delays take a major toll on their profit margins.

“The impact is significant,” Ogg said Saturday. “What we have lost is our Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s crab market. Everything has been pushed ahead to when people are less interested in getting the resource. It’s a lot more difficult and the financial impact to everyone is pretty significant.”

Read the full article at East Bay Times

CALIFORNIA: California reintroducing salmon by planting 350,000 spring-run Chinook eggs above dam

October 31, 2025 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) plans to inject 350,000 Chinook salmon eggs into the North Yuba River this fall as the state government looks for new ways to help struggling salmon populations recover.

This is the second year CDFW has taken this approach, collecting eggs fertilized at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville and then hydraulically injecting them into the river’s gravel substrate in November.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: Why holiday crab tradition in California faces another disrupted season

October 28, 2025 — For many Californians, crab bakes, crab cakes and crab feeds are traditional holiday fare.

But the need to protect humpback whales in California’s coastal waters, combined with widespread domoic acid contamination along the northern coast, has once again put the brakes on the Dungeness commercial fishery and parts of the recreational fishery this fall.

Consuming shellfish contaminated with domoic acid can cause illness and death.

Last week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it was delaying the opening of commercial crab fishing statewide until Jan. 1. The season will end July 31. It had been scheduled to start Nov. 1.

New state regulations require the closure of the fishery if three or more humpback whales are confirmed to have been entangled in crab gear during the calendar year. In 2025, four whales have been entangled in commercial Dungeness crab fishery ropes and lines. An additional four humpbacks have been snared in gear that officials suspected but could not confirm was for crab fishing.

Read the full article at The Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA: Commercial Dungeness crab fishing season delayed for all of California

October 27, 2025 — The commercial Dungeness crab fishing season has been delayed for all of California.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the presence of whales and leatherback sea turtles has stopped the starting of crab season. The season would have begun Nov. 1.

Recreation Dungeness crab season will open on Nov. 1 along the coast of the Central Coast and the Monterey Bay, but with some restrictions.

The use of crab traps between the areas of the Sonoma and Mendocino County line and Lopez Point, Monterey County, will be restricted.

A Fleet Advisory has also been sent out to avoid dropping any gear in the areas near the whales. Hoop nets also cannot be left unattended for extended periods and must be serviced every two hours.

Read the full article at KSBW

CALIFORNIA: California wildlife officers find dozens illegally harvesting Dungeness crab

September 24, 2025 — In August, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers caught roughly 45 individuals engaged in illegally harvesting Dungeness crab, ultimately issuing 15 citations.

Officers headed to the scene at Thronton Beach in San Francisco after being alerted to “30 people” potentially poaching via the state’s tip line. Law enforcement found close to 45 individuals taking part and opted to approach small groups of poachers as they left the beach.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New Data Shows Healthy Numbers of Quillback Rockfish off California; Fishing to Resume

September 22, 2025 — New data collected with help from California fishermen has revealed more quillback rockfish off the California Coast than estimated earlier. These findings allow NOAA Fisheries to drop fishing restrictions meant to help rebuild the species.

The change frees commercial and recreational fleets to resume fishing, particularly in shallower federal waters, for many species of groundfish off California, including rockfish. These fisheries generated more than $150 million in landings in some years. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife relaxed limits in state waters in August. NOAA Fisheries has now done the same in federal waters off California, which was announced on September 18.

“This demonstrates the value of good data to support the science,” said Keeley Kent, chief of the groundfish branch in NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. “The industry stepped up and helped gather a lot more data, and that shows there is a healthy population of quillback out there.”

The first-ever stock assessment for quillback rockfish off California in 2021 was based on the limited data available at the time. It found that the lesser known species in that area was below a minimum stock size threshold. The Pacific Fishery Management Council took precautionary steps to reduce the harvest. NOAA Fisheries determined in December 2023 that the species was overfished. Sustainable fisheries regulations required NOAA Fisheries to develop a rebuilding plan, which further limited fishing for quillback and other rockfish that can be caught with quillback.

These limits hit in 2023 just as low salmon returns also shut down salmon fishing in California for the first of 3 years, said Tim Klassen, who captains charter trips for Reel Steel Fishing in Eureka, California. He’s also a member of the groundfish advisory subpanel for the Pacific Fishery Management Council. “The timing couldn’t have been worse.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

CALIFORNIA: California cracks down on trap abandonment

September 4, 2025 — The California Fish and Game Commission has permanently revoked the commercial fishing licenses and permits of two fishermen following extensive and repeated violations in the state’s lobster and Dungeness crab fisheries.

At its meeting in June, the Commission acted on recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to revoke the commercial fishing license and lobster operator permit of Christopher James Miller, 68, of Santa Barbara, and the commercial fishing license and Dungeness crab permit of Ronald Ghera, 45, of Fortuna.

According to CDFW, Miller’s violations spanned over a decade and included abandoning 156 lobster traps in waters off Santa Barbara and the Northern Channel Islands. Additional infractions included leaving traps in the water after the season had closed, failing to retrieve baited traps, and submitting inaccurate catch records.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

CALIFORNIA: California closes Dungeness crab fishery to protect whales from entanglement

June 19, 2025 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced the closure of the Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery in the Northern Management Area to protect whales from entanglement. This decision, assessed under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP), affects Fishing Zones 1 and 2, spanning from the California-Oregon border to the Sonoma-Mendocino County line.

Marine scientists at Oceana have highlighted the severe damage that entanglement can cause to whales.

“Whales, in particular Humpback Whales, are getting entangled in trap fisheries in that line gear, which then wrap around their flukes or around their fin and cause them injuries and reduced feeding and potentially reduced reproduction as well,” said Oceana’s Campaign Manager & Marine Scientist Caitlynn Birch.

Read the full article at KRCR

CALIFORNIA: California removes limits on sardine fishing after domoic acid concerns pass

June 16, 2025 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has removed limits on sardine fishing in Southern California, declaring the fish once again safe for human consumption.

The state had initially limited sardine fishing from Point Conception south to the Mexico border after the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the State Public Health Officer at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) determined that elevated levels of domoic acid in sardines posed a risk to human health. Domoic acid, which is a naturally occurring neurotoxin emitted by marine algae, can accumulate in fish and cause several health issues, even proving fatal in some cases, for humans.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: CDFW closes sardine fishery for human consumption

May 20, 2025 — On May 9, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced an immediate restriction on the commercial and recreational harvest of Pacific sardines for human consumption in ocean waters south of Point Conception to the California-Mexico border.

The move follows a public health warning issued after dangerously high levels of domoic acid were detected in sardine samples from the region.

The directive, issued by CDFW Director Charlton Bonham, was prompted by recommendations from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). According to CDFW, sardines caught in the Southern California Bight pose “a human health risk due to elevated levels of domoic acid,” a naturally occurring marine toxin produced by harmful algal blooms.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman