California’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again to protect whales

SAN FRANCISCO– The start of California’s commercial Dungeness crab season has been delayed for the seventh year in a row to prevent humpback whales from becoming entangled in traps and buoy lines.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday that commercial crabbing will be postponed until at least Dec. 1. The situation will be reassessed on or around November 15.

It’s the latest delay before the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins in mid-November for the waters between the Mendocino county line and the border with Mexico.

Meanwhile, recreational fishing of Dungeness crab using traps will be temporarily limited in some areas when the recreational season opens Nov. 2, officials said. Recreational crabbers may use other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares.

The commercial crab industry is one of California’s most important fisheries, and the shellfish are especially popular around the holidays.

Humpback whales can become entangled in the vertical ropes connected to heavy commercial traps, which they can drag around for months, leaving them injured, starving or so exhausted that they can drown.

Humpback whales migrate north annually from Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, where they give birth to calves. In the spring, summer and fall, the humpback whales feed on anchovies, sardines and krill off the coast of California before returning south.