Commercial fishing for Dungeness crab ends next week in the Bay Area, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The reason is to minimize the risk of humpback whales getting entangled in fishing nets, CDFW officials said. The whales return to the Bay Area each spring to forage off the coast, increasing the risk of entanglement.
The area impacted range from the Sonoma-Mendocino County border to Pigeon Point near Pescadero in San Mateo County. The closure starts at 6 p.m. on May 1.
Commercial Dungeness crab fishing will remain open from Mendocino County north to the Oregon border. It is closed from Pigeon Point to the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, 24 confirmed whales were entangled off the California coast in 2024. Dungeness crab pots were the most documented cause, totaling 11 known entanglements, and humpback whales were the most entrapped whales.
One of the most recent entanglements took place in October, when a humpback whale was entangled in crab traps off the coast of Monterey, NOAA officials said. It took the Large Whale Entanglement Response Network, a group of scientific and nonprofit organizations that respond to whale entanglements, six months to free the whale due to inclement weather and the whale’s movements, which at times made it inaccessible to rescue teams.
In response, the California Fish and Game Commission expanded trials using pop-up crabbing gear, which is reported to be safer for whales while being profitable for fishermen. CDFW is working to create regulations that will authorize statewide use of the pop-up gear starting in 2026.
Ben Grundy, oceans campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting endangered species through grassroots activism and scientific research, called for the use of the pop-up gear immediately.
“Even when entanglements aren’t lethal, they can torture animals, leave scars and harm their ability to breed,” Grundy said. “The numbers make it crystal clear that the Dungeness crab fishery is entangling far too many whales and there needs to be urgent action before more animals are maimed or killed. California must authorize the use of pop-up gear immediately, which would be a win-win solution for all.”
Recreational crab trapping is still allowed with hoop nets and crab snare in the Bay Area. However, the use of crab traps is restricted, CDFW officials said.
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