MONTEREY — California’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery on the central coast will open Jan. 5, with a 40% gear reduction to reduce the risk of whale entanglements, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced in late December. Recreational crabbing will open statewide the same day, while the northern coast will remain closed to commercial crabbing until at least Jan. 15.
Four humpback whales were confirmed entangled in California Dungeness crab gear in 2025, with five additional humpbacks entangled in unknown gear that may have been Dungeness gear from California. About 75% of whale entanglements are fatal.
NOAA Fisheries reported 95 large whale entanglements in U.S. waters in 2024.
CDFW said it delayed the commercial season to allow more time for whales to migrate to calving grounds off Mexico and Central America after continued high numbers of whales were observed off the coast. One humpback population that feeds off California is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, according to a 2022 federal stock assessment.
The department is finalizing authorization of pop-up, or ropeless, fishing gear following three years of testing, with a public announcement expected in early January. Pop-up gear eliminates vertical lines by storing rope and buoys on the seafloor until activated.