Saving Seafood

Fuel costs squeeze US fleets as Dungie season ends on a low note

April 2, 2026 —  As the Dungeness crab season winds down on the Washington coast, fishermen are closing out a difficult year marked by low landings and rising fuel costs – pressures now being felt across all U.S. fisheries.

According to reporting from the Chinook Observer, Washington commercial crabbers landed 9,382,410 pounds of crab as of March 23, putting the season on pace to be the lowest-volume year since 2014-2015. At the same time, marine diesel prices are hovering near $6 per gallon, adding strain to an already challenging season.

“Hopefully, we’re at the point where it won’t go up anymore,” F/V Brandy owner and captain Ryan Walters told the Observer before departing on a trip with crew on March 28.

Fuel remains one of the largest expenses for vessels. Crew member Paul Munowich, who has fished commercially for 25 years, said prices are among the highest he can remember. “Fuel is one of our biggest expenses, just one of those things you’ve got to deal with,” he told the Observer, noting their vessel holds 3,000 gallons– putting a full fuel bill at more than $15,000.

While ex-vessel prices have held steady, the lack of volume has made for a tough season. “It’s been slow, a tough year,” Walters said. “The price has been good, just not the volume.”

Even so, fishermen are continuing to fish through the added costs. “It just affects the bottom line,” Munowich said. “That’s the problem with this industry –a lot of it gets dictated out of our control, but we’ve just got to keep fishing,” he told the Observer.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

WASHINGTON: Washington coast commercial fishermen feel the pinch of rising fuel prices

March 30, 2026 — As Dungeness crab season limps to a historically low-volume finish, punishing fuel prices are putting a final dash of salt on an unsavory year for the Washington coast fleet.

As of March 23, Washington commercial crabbers have landed 9,382,410 pounds of crab, currently on pace for the lowest volume since the 2014-2015 season (7.5 million pounds).

Meanwhile, the average price of marine diesel fuel is hovering around a historic high of $6/gallon, capping what has been a forgettable season for commercial crabbers.

“Hopefully, we’re at the point where it won’t go up anymore,” said F/V Brandy owner and captain Ryan Walters before departing on a trip with crew on Saturday, March 28.

Read the full article at the Chinook Observer

CALIFORNIA: CDFW bans conventional crab traps in Monterey Bay to reduce whale entanglements

March 16, 2026 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday that commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fishers can no longer use conventional traps in parts of the California coast.

DFW said the ban takes effect March 27 in waters south of Pigeon Point past Morro Bay in state fishing zones 4 and 5, including Monterey Bay.

CDFW said commercial Dungeness crab fishing may continue for the rest of the season through June 30 using newly approved “pop-up” gear beginning in April.

Recreational crab fishers may continue using hoop gear, which does not use vertical lines in the water column, in the closure areas after March 27.

Read the full article at KSBW

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