Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: California to open last section of coast for commercial Dungeness crab harvesting

January 26, 2026 — The U.S. state of California is set to open up the last section of its coast to commercial Dungeness crab harvesting after testing revealed domoic acid levels in the area had gone down.

Although the rest of the state’s coastline opened for commercial harvesting earlier in January, a small stretch from the southern tip of the Reading Rock State Marine Protected Area to Cape Mendocino was further delayed due to elevated levels of domoic acid in crabs sampled from those waters. Domoic acid is a naturally occurring neurotoxin that can cause health issues for humans when they consume shellfish that contain high levels of it.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: California delays commercial crab season start for section of Northern coast

January 13, 2026 — The state of California has decided to further delay the start of the commercial crab season along a stretch of its Northern coast after detecting elevated levels of domoic acid in the area.

After facing a delay of several weeks due to an abundance of whales off the state’s coast, California has been starting the commercial Dungeness crab season piecemeal as conditions improve in designated fishing zones. Crabbing in the central management area launched 5 January, while the Northern section of the coast was slated to open 15 January.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: Dungeness crab fishing season opens, but weather and price disputes causes delays

January 6, 2025 — While the Dungeness crab fishing season opened on Monday, many fishermen did not head out on the water.

“Not today with the bad weather,” said Sal Tringali with Monterey Fish Company.

On top of recent storms creating dangerous conditions on the water, fishermen are also in price disputes with buyers.

Since state regulations, aimed at protecting whales from fishing line entanglements, delayed the season until after the holiday demand and require fishermen to go out with 40% less gear this year, they are hoping to get a better opening price.

In a news release, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations said, “Member fishermen are united in standing together to achieve a fair price, recognizing that fishing at a price 30 percent lower than last year is not economically viable. Operating costs continue to rise, while fishing days have been reduced by more than half under new regulations in recent years.”

Read the full article at KSBW

WASHINGTON: Crabbers catch fair winds, decent price

January 5, 2026 — Calm seas and a fair price made for a rosy start to this year’s crabbing season.

Ryan Walters, owner of the F/V Brandy, was among the local commercial crabbers who made their first Dungeness offload of the season on Thursday, Jan. 1, at Safe Coast Seafoods in Ilwaco.

Walters and crew delivered an estimated 28,000 pounds of crab following their first trip of the season, earning $4.35 per pound from the processor.

Read the full article at Chinook Observer

WASHINGTON: Crabbers get cracking: State’s most lucrative fishery starts with high hopes after delay

December 29, 2025 — The pots are loaded and hopes are high.

After a month-long delay, the 2025-2026 Washington commercial Dungeness crab season is underway — much to the relief of local fishermen — kicking off the most lucrative fishery in the Pacific Northwest.

Fast and furious start

Each year, the vast majority of Dungeness is landed in the first two months, turning the first few weeks of the season into a marathon for fishermen and local processors.

By noon Saturday, Dec. 27, at the Port of Chinook, South Bend Products deck boss Herman Sevilla had helped load more than half a dozen boats with thousands of pots, a typical pace for the start of the commercial crab season.

Later in the day, fishing crews were going to begin loading crab bait — a frozen mix of rockfish, tuna, herring — which is then placed in plastic or metal bait jars before going into the crab pot.

Read the full article at the Chinook Observer

OREGON: Conservation groups urge Oregon to reduce whale deaths from crab fishing gear

December 29, 2025 — After at least four humpback whales were entangled this year in Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, conservation groups are petitioning the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt measures to reduce the amount of fishing gear during whale feeding and migration seasons.

Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Cetacean Society, the petition asks officials to open a pathway for fishers to use pop-up fishing gear, which eliminates untended buoy lines. The gear has been tested in the California Dungeness crab fishery, and conservation groups say it is reliable, profitable and safe for whales and other marine animals.

“This year’s horrific entanglements show that humpbacks are in a lot of danger from Oregon crab gear,” said Ben Grundy, an oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If state officials don’t move to adopt whale-safe fishing gear, like pop-up buoys for Dungeness crab pots, endangered whales will continue to suffer and die preventable deaths.”

The petition, filed earlier this month, comes weeks after a young entangled humpback whale was found stranded on a beach north of Yachats. Veterinarians euthanized the whale after unsuccessful attempts to free it on Nov. 17. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife  is investigating the entanglement.

Read the full article at The Oregon Capital Chronicle

California commercial Dungeness crab season set to open on January 5

December 22, 2025 — California’s commercial Dungeness crab season is set to open on January 5 with limits on the number of commercial traps because of the risk of humpback whale entanglements, authorities said Friday.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the Central Management Area from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County will operate under a 40% trap reduction for commercial crabbing. Those fishermen will be allowed to begin setting traps during a “pre-soak” period starting on January 2.

Commercial crab fishing from the Oregon border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line will remain delayed until January 15, with pre-soak beginning on January 12 with a 15% trap reduction, the CDFW said. The additional delay in northern waters is due to high levels of domoic acid in crab, which will require more testing before the all-clear is given, the CDFW said. Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by certain algae that can accumulate in shellfish and cause amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans.

In addition, the delay in the north will trigger California’s “fair start” rule, which bars vessels that fished in any other Dungeness crab area earlier in the season, including Oregon and Washington, from fishing in the newly opened delayed area for 30 days.

Read the full article at CBS News

Petition urges more protections for whales in Dungeness crab fisheries

December 18, 2025 — Four conservation groups have petitioned the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to strengthen risk reduction measures to prevent whale entanglement during the state’s Dungeness crab fishery.

The petition filed on Dec. 11 in Salem, Oregon, also calls for creating a pathway for authorization of safer pop-up fishing gear and establishing a process for timely public reporting of marine mammal or sea turtle entanglements in Oregon Commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear.

Four humpback whales were confirmed to have been entangled in 2025 in Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, including one that beached and had to be euthanized.

Petition signers included the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Cetacean Society. 

“If state officials don’t move to adopt whale-safe fishing gear, like pop-up buoys for Dungeness crab pots, endangered whales will continue to suffer and die preventable deaths,” said Ben Grundy, an oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Petition urges more protections for whales in Dungeness crab fisheries

December 17, 2025 — Four conservation groups have petitioned the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to strengthen risk reduction measures to prevent whale entanglement during the state’s Dungeness crab fishery.

The petition filed on Dec. 11 in Salem, Oregon, also calls for creating a pathway for authorization of safer pop-up fishing gear and establishing a process for timely public reporting of marine mammal or sea turtle entanglements in Oregon Commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear.

Four humpback whales were confirmed to have been entangled in 2025 in Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, including one that beached and had to be euthanized.

Petition signers included the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Cetacean Society. 

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

OREGON: Crabbing season faces new delays

December 12, 2025 — North Coast crabbing season to stay closed until at least Dec. 31

On Friday, Dec. 5, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced delays to the North Coast commercial Dungeness crab season until at least Wednesday, Dec. 31, citing Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife meat fill test results.

According to an ODFW press release issued on Dec. 5, the commercial season will be open from Cape Falcon to the California border on Dec. 16. The North Coast’s season will remain closed until at least Dec. 31.

“The crabs in Oregon were good north of Cape Falcon,” said Rob Seitz, a local fisherman, “but the ones just north of the river in Washington didn’t quite make it.”

The meat fill test is done to ensure that the crabs have enough meat to meet consumer standards, and to keep the ecosystem healthy, according to ODFW. The required meat recovery percentage is 23%; Long Beach crabs only had a meat fill rate of 22.5%.

The decision to only open Cape Falcon to the California border allows crabbers to ensure that their product is of consistent quality.

Read the full article at The Astorian