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Dungeness drag: Fleet agrees to shutter early

March 29, 2019 — The California Dungeness crab season will come to an early end this year on April 15 — three months ahead of schedule — leaving millions of dollars of product in the water. The fleet opted for the early closure to settle a lawsuit over whale entanglement rather than risk the possibility of an indefinite closure.

“The settlement is going to be extremely painful and extremely difficult to deal with,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “But this was the best possible deal that was acceptable to all parties.”

At issue is a 2017 lawsuit in federal court by the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Biological Diversity that argued the state of California and fishermen were in violation of the Endangered Species Act after a three-year spike in whale entanglements in Dungeness crab fishing gear from 2014 to 2017.

The lawsuit sought the closure of the state-managed fishery until a federal incidental take permit was established — a process that could take years to implement.

Commercial fishermen, state regulators and biologists had convened a California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group in 2015 to find ways to limit whale entanglements while avoiding the burdensome federal incidental take permits.

A preliminary count for 2018 showed 45 whale entanglements on the West Coast, compared with 31 confirmed entanglements in 2017. Between 2000 and 2014, the West Coast saw an average of 10 entanglements per year, according to NOAA data.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Court Denies California’s Attempt to Delay Whale Entanglement Case

February 1, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A federal court has rejected the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s bid to delay a lawsuit alleging it’s not doing enough to prevent its commercial Dungeness crab fishery from entangling whales and sea turtles in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued the department in October 2017 after whale entanglement numbers broke records for three straight years.

“This is an important win in our fight to protect whales and sea turtles from suffering and dying in crabbing gear. It’s time for California regulators to stop delaying and take action,” Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center, said in a press release. “The court recognized that it can’t just sit on the sidelines while state officials have no plan to prevent entanglements. Talking and holding endless meetings isn’t enough.”

U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney denied the department’s motion to stay the case for two and a half years while it applies for an ESA Section 10 federal permit, which would require preventive measures. California sent a letter to NOAA last year, indicating the agency’s plans to formally file for the permit.

In the meantime, California has taken steps to avoid whale entanglements. The Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group published a best practices guide for fishermen It also established the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) to support the state in working collaboratively with experts (fishermen, researchers, NGOs, etc.) to identify and assess elevated levels of entanglement risk and determine the need for management options to reduce risk of entanglement. Working with federal scientists, the group also solicits periodic flyovers to find concentrations of gear and concentrations of whales. With that information, fishermen can voluntarily get their gear and/or try to avoid whale interactions.

The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations filed as an intervenor in the lawsuit and continues to support the industry in its efforts to avoid whale entanglement.

“No commercial fisherman wants to entangle whales or sea turtles in their fishing gear – doing so is not only a public relations disaster, but will likely destroy that gear, can damage their boats and can even be life-threatening,” the PCFFA states in its Memorandum in Support of Motion for Intervention in March 2018. “Many commercial fishermen voluntarily participate in programs to identify and rescue marine animals (especially whales) from entanglements in commercial fishing gear, often at great personal peril.”

On Feb. 22 the court is scheduled to consider the Center’s motion for summary judgment, the Center said in a press release.

In 2016 federal officials confirmed that the California commercial Dungeness crab fishery entangled at least 23 animals. As of late November, at least 36 whale entanglements had been reported off California in 2018, including at least five humpback whales entangled in California commercial Dungeness crab gear, the Center said in the statement.

California’s attention to this issue a few years ago has resulted in several gear workshops that included researchers, developers and fishermen coming together to try to solve or mitigate whale entanglement issues on the entire West Coast. Both Oregon and Washington now have their own gear/entanglement groups, working on problems and proposing incremental steps to prevent entanglements. Washington also has notified NOAA it intends to apply for an ESA Section 10 permit for its Dungeness crab fishery.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

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