Conservation groups have joined forces with California’s commercial fishers in a new partnership aimed at protecting whales while keeping the state’s Dungeness crab fishery open.
“California’s commercial fishermen have a long history of finding solutions to challenges on the water,” Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) Executive Director Lisa Damrosch said in a release. “This partnership brings that experience together with some of the best minds in science and conservation, with fishermen at the table from the very beginning. Together, we have an opportunity to find a better balance between protecting whales and sustaining a healthy, viable Dungeness crab fishery."
The newly announced Dungeness Crab and Whale Conservation Collaborative is a partnership between the Marine Mammal Center, the PCFFA, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) funded by a three-year grant from the Clean Break Fund. The collaborative’s stated goal is to develop better information and solutions for preventing entanglements.
“Right now, one of the biggest obstacles to protecting whales in this fishery is simply not knowing, in real time, where they are,” Kathi George, director of the Schwartz Cetacean Conservation Program at The Marine Mammal Center, said in a release. “By bringing together different monitoring technologies, scientific expertise, and the knowledge of the fishers who are on the water every day, we have an opportunity to build a much clearer picture of whale presence and behavior. That information can help inform decisions that reduce entanglement risk while supporting a sustainable fishery.”
Through the collaborative, the Marine Mammal Center will lead development of an integrated whale monitoring system that combines data from surveys, drones, shore-based observations, and underwater acoustic gliders to better understand where whales are. PCFFA will contribute through participation in industry-led vessel surveys, while The Nature Conservancy will work to expand those surveys and satellite-based whale detections. Findings will be shared with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to better inform policy and management.
Entanglement risk is a major challenge for California’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery, with the presence of whales leading to regular delays to season openings and early closures. California regulators have turned to popup gear as one solution that enables the fishery to remain open despite the presence of whales, although only a limited number of vessels participate in the popup gear fishery. NOAA Fisheries confirmed 76 large whale entanglements last year, with 78 percent of the incidents taking place in the Pacific Ocean.
“For generations, the Dungeness crab season has sustained our local fishing communities and a vibrant coastal economy with a California staple, but in recent years, costly delays have cut into its most critical catch,” said Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple Inc. and founder of the Clean Break Fund. “We live in the innovation capital of the world, and the technology and expert partners exist today to both protect marine life and keep crab boats on the water for longer – we just have to be smarter about how we do it. This new collaboration brings scientists, conservationists and fishermen into balance by deploying the most effective, modern methods available, sharing data in real time and informing more dynamic fishery management decision-making.”
