August 18, 2026 — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approved new rules for Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fisheries during a meeting Friday, Aug. 14, with changes aimed in part at reducing whale entanglements.
The new rules include updates involving experimental gear, such as pop-up crab gear designed to reduce the amount of line in the water, as well as surface gear, including buoys and lines at the water’s surface.
August 18, 2026 — During an 14 August board meeting, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) unanimously voted to pass electronic vessel monitoring requirements for the state’s Dungeness crab operations, aiming to reduce the risk of whale entanglement.
ODFW said in a release that each commercial crab vessel in the state’s Dungeness fishery must now install an electronic vessel monitoring system by 1 February 2027. Original legislation required the installation two months earlier, but upon listening to public feedback, the commission pushed back the deadline to next year.
August 17, 2026 — On Friday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission revised rules to strengthen the department’s efforts to reducing whale entanglements in Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery.
The revised rules include electronic vessel monitoring, including the installation of devices that provide a vessel’s location and other data. This requirement will take effect in February 2027.
The Commission also established additional criteria and guidelines for approving experimental fishing gear permits, allowing the exploration of alternative gear for the crab fishery that needs to be tested off the Oregon coast.