Crab-fishing gear intended to pose less danger to whales has been approved for the first time for the commercial Dungeness crab industry by California wildlife officials.
So-called pop-up fishing gear hugs the seafloor, rather than using long lines to connect crab traps to the surface, which can potentially entangle and kill whales, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Approval of the new equipment was announced Friday as the state said it would restrict conventional commercial Dungeness fishing beginning March 27 for much of the Central Coast.
The area extends from Pigeon Point, 50 miles south of San Francisco near Half Moon Bay, to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County. Pop-up equipment will be permitted in that area beginning April 3.
“Pop-up fishing gear uses buoys and lines attached to cages, just like traditional crab traps, however the buoys and lines of pop-up gear remain coiled on the seafloor,” the Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a press release.
“When a commercial fisherman is ready to retrieve their gear, a remote signal triggers the release of the buoy which carries the line to the surface and allows commercial crabbers to locate the trap for immediate removal,” the department said.
The season for commercial fishing for Dungeness crab was delayed twice this season to keep migrating humpback whales from becoming tangled in fishing gear. Entanglements once killed as many as 20 of the federally protected whales in a season, according to department scientists.
Even when it opened, fishermen were required to reduce traps by 40%.
The commercial fishery remains open from the California/Oregon border to Pigeon Point under existing crab trap reductions, the department said.
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