November 17, 2022 — Researchers at Oregon State University are working to find out how climate change is affecting marine life along the Oregon coast – specifically Dungeness crab and krill.
“The ocean is changing, and we want to make sure that we know what is coming ahead,” said marine ecologist Francis Chan. “And we want to know what are the levers that we might pull now or in the future to make sure the fisheries stay really productive.”
November 17, 2022 — If anything can be considered usual about the upcoming West Coast Dungeness crab season, it’s that test results are a bit unusual and may lead to a staggered season opening.
Last year, all three states opened on Dec. 1. This year, crab in some areas may not be completely filled out.
November 8, 2022 — Terry “Chop” Arnold Jr. remembers the first few times he climbed in his dad’s 36-foot fishing boat at an old log boom, near the northernmost tip of Washington.
“I started going out with him when I was 10,” said Arnold, a Makah tribal fisherman. “And I never looked back.”
For decades, Chinook salmon were plentiful along the beach, he said. But in the ‘90s, the Arnolds had to troll as far as 30 miles offshore to find fish.
Fishing for many species has proved pretty steady over the years for Arnold. But lately, there have been seasons where there’s little or no crab, he said.
Not too far down the coast, piles of dead Dungeness crab washed ashore on Kalaloch Beach this summer. Meanwhile, fishers have shared stories about hoisting up dead or suffocating crabs in their pots, said Jenny Waddell, research ecologist with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Now, scientists are working to understand how climate change is affecting Dungeness crab, which is both culturally significant and a pillar of Washington’s seafood industry. From 2014 to 2019, coast-caught Dungeness was worth an annual average of $45 million.
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a $4.2 million award for a four-year study on Dungeness crab and krill that will bring together researchers and experts from coastal tribes, public universities and federal agencies from Northern California to Washington.
Climate change has been exacerbating existing marine environmental stressors through changes in temperatures, ocean chemistry and seasonal cycles.
November 7, 2022 — An important species of crab found primarily along the West Coast is fighting off a combination of stressors that experts at the North Atlantic and Atmospheric Administration say has fishermen finding piles of dead shellfish, and the impacts are affecting the economy.
Dungeness crabs are typically found along water beds, and their harvest can be worth a quarter-billion dollars annually.
April 8, 2022 — All commercial Dungeness crab fishery along California’s coast will be closed this month after humpback whales were found entangled in fishing gear, wildlife authorities said.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that fishery zones from the Sonoma-Mendocino county life north to the Oregon state line will close at noon on April 20. The closure comes after the department had already announced that commercial crab traps would have to be removed from fishery zones from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line down south to the U.S.-Mexico border by Friday.
“We received reports of additional humpback whale entanglements and moved quickly to close the fishery to protect migrating humpback whales that are just starting to return to California waters,” said Director Bonham.
March 28, 2022 — The commercial Dungeness crab-fishing season started late for the Bay Area and Central Coast regions. And it’s ending early.
On Friday afternoon, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ruled that the season must close April 8 to protect migrating humpback whales. Two whales have recently become entangled in crab-fishing gear, one off the San Mateo County coast and one in Monterey Bay.
Until then, the state is asking all fishermen and mariners to keep an eye out for entangled whales and report them to the U.S. Coast Guard so that a “disentanglement response team” can be sent out to remove the gear.
“The past few seasons have been difficult for fishing families, communities and businesses, but it is imperative that we strike the right balance between protecting humpback whales and providing fishing opportunity,” Charlton H. Bonham, CDFW director, said in a statement about his decision.
March 23, 2022 — Two humpback whales were tangled in fishing gear off central California in recent days and state wildlife officials are recommending commercial Dungeness crab fishing be suspended to reduce the risk of more entanglements as the whales migrate north.
One humpback was caught in commercial crab nets off Moss Beach, just north of Half Moon Bay, on March 17. Two days later, a second whale was spotted trailing a set of crabbing lines in Monterey Bay, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.
Wildlife officials on Monday recommended commercial Dungeness crab fishing from Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco, to the Mexican border stop on April 8. The closures wouldn’t affect recreational Dungeness crab fishing.
December 10, 2021 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Thursday that commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fishing in Monterey Bay will open Friday.
Fishing Zone 4 from Pigeon Point to Lopez Point will open for recreational Dungeness crab trap fishing under a Fleet Advisory beginning at 9 a.m. on Dec. 10.
The commercial fishery will open in Zone 4 under a Fleet Advisory and Depth Constraint at 12;01 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2021, with a pre-soak period to begin at 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 13.
December 2, 2021 — New research looks at how a climate extreme intensifies tensions between ocean life and people, and what can be done about it. The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
Researchers show that many strategies are insufficient during prolonged, anomalous warm water events called marine heatwaves. Instead, they recommend combining several approaches, including improved forecast systems, technological innovations, and understanding human behavior.
Over the past few years, marine heatwaves have dramatically affected natural resources along the U.S. West Coast, including economically valuable fisheries. Still, we know very little about how and when management actions can dampen their impacts on marine life and the people who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.
An ecological pileup of recent unprecedented changes in the ocean off the West Coast led to record numbers of reported entanglements of humpback and other whales. These conditions put California’s Dungeness crab fishery, the region’s most valuable commercial fishery, at odds with the conservation of several at-risk whale species.
Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries
November 24, 2021 — An abundance of endangered whales still feeding off the California Coast has forced the continued delay of commercial crabbing off the shore of Monterey, San Francisco and Bodega bays, at least until Dec. 15.
The delay will help ensure marine animals don’t become entangled, according to state Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham.
The season will open Dec. 1 north of Sonoma County, allowing the harvest of North Coast Dungeness crab there to proceed on time, furnishing fresh crab for winter holiday feasts and an opportunity for some commercial crabbers to get some action even if they usually fish in areas that remain closed.
Read the full story at The Press Democrat