The commercial crab season will open from the Oregon state line to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line Jan. 5, but will remain closed south of that because of high numbers of migrating humpback whales off the California coast, according to officials.
Recreational crab restrictions will also be in place between the Sonoma/Mendocino line to Lopez Point in Monterey County but hoop nets and crab snares are allowed.
High numbers of migrating humpback whales spotted off the California coast are prompting state regulators to further postpone the commercial Dungeness crab season. The next assessment will take place Jan. 11, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Recent surveys have spotted “high concentrations” of humpback whales feeding on anchovy in fishing zone 4 off the coast of Monterey and Santa Cruz, according to the wildlife agency.
A Pacific leatherback sea turtle died after it was found Nov. 24 entangled in commercial crab fishing gear near the Farallon Islands. In addition, the department received a report Nov. 11 that a humpback whale was found entangled in commercial crab fishing gear.
Advocates for marine life welcomed a previous delay decision.”
We know humpback whales are still in the area, so opening the Dungeness crab fishing season now would pose a huge threat to them,” Ben Grundy, oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said. “Holding off until whale activity decreases is the right decision.”
Restrictions on recreational crab traps are lifted along the Mendocino Coast north of Point Arena to the Oregon border and between Lopez Point and Point Conception south of Morro Bay, according to Wednesday’s announcement by the wildlife agency.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.