State officials announced Friday that the commercial Dungeness crab fishery for most of California’s coast will finally open south of the Sonoma-Mendocino county line beginning Jan. 5.
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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) issued its latest update Friday, stating that fishing in fishing zones 3-6 – which extends south from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to the U.S.-Mexico border – to would open at 12 noon. :01 a.m. on January 5. A fall preweek begins three days earlier at 8:01 a.m. on January 2. The designated area will be subject to a 50% reduction in traps.
For fishing zones 1 and 2 — the area from the California-Oregon border to the Sonoma-Mendocino county line — the start of the Dungeness crab season will be further delayed “due to the inability to conduct industry-sponsored meat quality testing,” with the opening of the season at 12:01 a.m. on January 5. Fall pre-soaking begins three days earlier at 8:01 a.m. on January 12. That area will be subject to a 25% fall reduction.
The The recreational crabbing season started on November 2but the use of traps was prohibited in Zones 3 and 4, between the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to Lopez Point in Monterey County due to the “great abundance” of humpback whales in the area that would be endangered by possible entanglements. That restriction will be lifted on January 2 at 8:01 am.
Dungeness crab season traditionally begins in mid-November, but Delays have become a constant problem for crabbers in recent years, these have been frustrating fishermen who rely on meeting the increased demand for shellfish during the holidays to make a living.
Not being able to start during the holidays costs money.
“We see it in our income. We are definitely getting a lower price for our crabs. It’s tough,” said crab fisherman Bradley Titus. “It’s sad that I start expecting it every year. January feels like the new normal.”
Since 2018, whale protection has led to a delay in the commercial crab season. There is increasing tension among crab fishermen on alternative methods for whale-safe fishing to compensate for the losses of increasingly shorter seasons.
The previous crab season was postponed until January 18 And ended prematurely on April 8 as a result of the whale migration.
