Tag: whale entanglement

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , , , ,

Sonoma County crabbers face new limits as state restricts season for 7th year — but can keep working

Alana Minkler, PRESS DEMOCRAT

For the seventh year in a row, California officials are limiting commercial Dungeness crab fishing along the coast — including off Sonoma County — to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in fishing gear.

Charlton H. Bonham, director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, announced the new restrictions Thursday after aerial footage showed whales returning early to coastal feeding grounds.

All commercial crab fishing zones south of San Mateo County must now close for the season. Fishing Zone 3 — which stretches from the Mendocino County line to Pigeon Point and includes Bodega Bay and the San Francisco Bay — will remain open for now, but under tighter rules: crabbers must reduce their gear by half and avoid setting traps deeper than 30 fathoms, or about 180 feet.

The state has repeatedly delayed or shortened crab seasons since 2019 to protect migrating whales from becoming ensnared in vertical fishing lines.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/crab-sonoma-coast-california-season-whales/

Author SuzannePosted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, Habitats, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags , , ,

A handful of crab boats experimented with a new gear. Can it keep whales from being entangled?

Mary Callahan, PRESS DEMOCRAT

A trial of innovative crab fishing gear designed to reduce whale entanglements is being hailed as a resounding success that should advance widespread use of the new technology off the California coast sometime soon.

But the reception to the trial and reports of its success have opened a window into profound conflict within the Dungeness crab fleet over the future of the industry, the squeeze of government regulations, and mistrust of the technology and those who promote it.

Battered economically by shortened crab seasons for six years and the total closure of king salmon seasons for two years running — many fish for both — commercial crabbers are at once desperate for more opportunities to fish and eager to reclaim some control over their livelihoods.

They have largely resisted the idea of so-called pop-up gear, citing the expense of converting their equipment, doubts about its reliability and concerns that failures and unintended consequences could actually lead to more whale entanglements.

Nineteen commercial crabbing boats participated in the largest experiment to date, fishing with “ropeless” gear from April 9 through June 30, when most of the fleet was shut out of the crabbing grounds because of concerns about ensnaring marine animals.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/california-crab-ropeless-whale/