California commercial Dungeness crab season set to open on January 5
California's commercial Dungeness crab season is set to open on January 5 with limits on the number of commercial traps because of the risk of humpback whale entanglements, authorities said Friday.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the Central Management Area from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County will operate under a 40% trap reduction for commercial crabbing. Those fishermen will be allowed to begin setting traps during a "pre-soak" period starting on January 2.
Commercial crab fishing from the Oregon border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line will remain delayed until January 15, with pre-soak beginning on January 12 with a 15% trap reduction, the CDFW said. The additional delay in northern waters is due to high levels of domoic acid in crab, which will require more testing before the all-clear is given, the CDFW said. Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by certain algae that can accumulate in shellfish and cause amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans.
In addition, the delay in the north will trigger California's "fair start" rule, which bars vessels that fished in any other Dungeness crab area earlier in the season, including Oregon and Washington, from fishing in the newly opened delayed area for 30 days.
CDFW has delayed the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season every year since the 2017-2018 season, pushing back the key mid-November holiday opener. While the state has promoted the use of high-tech "pop-up" traps that eliminate the use of entangling rope lines, fishermen who are already facing losses are hard-pressed to take on the additional cost of such traps.
State officials said the trap reductions and timing of the crab season are meant to balance the needs of fishing communities with protections for whales and sea turtles that forage in key crab fishing areas.
"Setting the opening date of the Dungeness crab fishery is never easy," said CDFW director Charlton Bonham in a prepared statement. "The commercial Dungeness crab fishery is inherently complex, and careful consideration is required to ensure we are supporting California's fishing communities while also reducing risk of entanglement of whales and sea turtles off our coast. CDFW is grateful for the collaborative effort between commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental groups, scientists and agency partners that support our work in managing this iconic West Coast fishery."
CDFW is also lifting a temporary recreational crab trap restriction on January 2 between the Oregon border and Cape Mendocino, and between the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and Lopez Point in Monterey County. California recreational crabbing began November 1 in most areas, though northern zones were delayed by domoic acid levels.
Approximately 75% of whale entanglements are fatal, ocean conservation group Oceana said in a press statement Friday. It said that four humpback whales became entangled in California Dungeness crab gear in 2025, with another five humpbacks entangled in unknown gear that may be from California waters. In September, NOAA Fisheries reported that 95 large whales were entangled in U.S. waters last year, higher than the historical average and an increase from 2023.