Saving Seafood

OREGON: Oregon wildlife officials deny petition aimed at reducing whale entanglements

February 25, 2026 — Commissioners for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife voted no on a petition that would’ve modified the rules for crab fisheries in an effort to prevent whale entanglements on Friday.

After hearing testimony from more than 70 people who showed up to their regular meeting in Springfield on Feb. 20, the commissioners voted 6-1 to a proposal which would have initiated a public rulemaking process.

The petition was filed by environment groups Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Cetacean Society in an effort to reduce the number of whales caught in fishing gear.

“Whale entanglements in the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery are a serious and increasing problem, especially for endangered humpback whales,” said Ben Enticknap, fisheries campaign director for Oceana. And this problem isn’t going away on its own.”

Read the full article at KOIN

OREGON: Oregon commission rejects Dungeness crab petition

February 23, 2026 — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) rejected a petition filed by conservation NGOs seeking new rules to reduce the risk of whale entanglements in Dungeness crab fishing gear, opting instead to move forward with its own ongoing rulemaking process.

“We remain fully committed to protecting whales and other marine life while supporting a sustainable, community‑based crab fishery,” the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission said in a social media post after the vote. “Over the past several years, Oregon’s crab fleet, [Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife] staff, and the Commission have already implemented a series of conservation measures and adaptive, late‑season rules to reduce entanglement risk, and that work will continue.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: Ropeless crab gear cleared for spring Dungeness fishery; grants offered.

February 12, 2026 — For the first time, California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved ropeless crab traps as an alternative gear fishers can use in the Dungeness crab fishery during the spring 2026 season.

While several manufacturers are entering West Coast fisheries with ropeless crab traps, Sub Sea Sonics is the first to be authorized to allow commercial crab fishers to continue operating during seasonal fishery closures between April 1 and July 15, 2026. Another manufacturer, EdgeTech, is expected to receive approval from CDFW, according to Geoff Shester, fisheries innovation director and senior scientist with Oceana.

“All eyes are on—let’s see how this goes in the spring,” says Shester.

Over the last few years, ropeless crab traps, or “pop-up gear” have emerged as an experimental option allowing fishers to deploy a buoy using an acoustic signal, rather than leaving a rope suspended in the water.

Read the full article at Monterey County Now

Whale strandings prompt Dungeness crabbing rule changes

February 5, 2026 — Last September, a humpback whale off the coast of California and another off the coast of Mexico were found dragging gear from Dungeness crabbing operations in Oregon. In November, rigging from the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery caused the stranding of a juvenile humpback whale on the beach in Yachats that was subsequently euthanized, according to wildlife officials.

Whale entanglements are becoming more common along the west coast of the United States, with NOAA Fisheries reporting as many as three dozen confirmed sightings in 2024.

In an effort to prevent the entanglements, last year, the state of Oregon mandated that commercial crabbing operations reduce the number of pots they deploy and stick to shallower waters on May 1. Now, state regulators have moved the date earlier in the season, April 1.

The impact of the change

Poggy Lapham is owner/operator of the 66-foot, Newport-based fishing vessel Michele Ann. On a recent morning, Lapham stood on the bridge of his boat while watching a small crane lift five-foot-square plastic bins brimming with freshly-caught Dungeness crab from the ship’s hold. A forklift took the bins to a scale and then a refrigerated tractor-trailer.

Lapham said the crabbing community was not consulted about the new rules, and even though the change will likely not impact his bottom line, it will undermine the profitability of many smaller operations.

“I typically don’t fish [for crab] that late in the season, as it is, but if you look out the window of this boat right now, I can pick out a whole bunch of boats where that is an essential part of their season,” he said.

Typically on April 1, Lapham begins to harvest sablefish, which is also known as black cod. He uses traps that sit on the sea floor like crab pots. And just like crab pots, the denial-of-exit trap is tethered to a rope and a buoy that floats on the surface.

Lapham knows the industry well. In fact, he’s a member of the federally mandated West Coast Take Reduction Team for sablefish pot fishing.

Read the full article at KLCC

OREGON: Oregon adds late-season crab gear restrictions

February 4, 2026 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has implemented temporary rule changes that move late-season whale entanglement risk reduction measures for the 2025-2026 commercial Dungeness crab season up by one month, shifting the start date from May 1 to April 1.

Beginning April 1, commercial crab permit holders will see a 20 percent reduction in pot limits combined with a 40-fathom depth restriction, meaning no gear may be fished beyond 40 fathoms once the late-season measures are in effect.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

CALIFORNIA: CDFW authorizes first on-demand gear for Dungeness crab

January 30, 2026 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved the first-ever state-authorized on-demand fishing gear for use in California’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery, marking a significant step forward in efforts to reduce marine life entanglement risk.

CDFW supports the development and testing of fishing gear modifications and innovations aimed at lowering the risk of entanglement with Dungeness crab fishing gear. Currently, the state offers two primary pathways for testing and using innovative or experimental fishing gear: Experimental Fishing Permits (EFPs) and alternative gear authorization.

Under the state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program, alternative gear authorization establishes a process for certifying innovative gear types that reduce entanglement risk. Once authorized by the CDFW director, alternative gear may be used between April 1 and the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab statutory season in areas that would otherwise be closed to traditional crab fishing.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

OREGON: Oregon implements new rules for crab fishers to reduce whale deaths

January 29, 2026 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is implementing temporary rule changes for Dungeness crab fishers in the 2025-26 season to restrict gear and areas where fishing can occur.

Beginning April 1, crab fishers must comply with late-season whale entanglement risk reduction measures, including a 20% reduction in pot limits, a 40-fathom depth restriction and the mandatory use of secondary buoy tags.

The changes follow a petition conservation groups filed Dec. 11 asking the state to adopt measures to reduce whale and sea turtle entanglements in Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery after a record number of humpback whales were caught in Oregon Dungeness crab fishing gear in 2024 and 2025.

Read the full article at OPB

OREGON: Oregon takes actions to reduce entanglement risks in commercial Dungeness crab fishery

January 28, 2026 — The U.S. state of Oregon has moved up its “late-season” Dungeness crab gear regulations by a month in an effort to reduce the likelihood of whale entanglements.

The late-season rules – which prohibit setting gear in waters deeper than 40 fathoms and require fishers to use 20 percent fewer pots and special buoy tags on each pot – were slated to go into effect 1 May. However, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has decided to move up the start date to 1 April in a bid to prevent any humpback whale entanglements.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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