California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several changes to the state’s Dungeness crab fishery into law, adopting recommendations made by the Dungeness Crab Task Force (DC TF).
The DCTF was established to give commercial fishers a path for suggesting regulatory changes to the state’s Dungeness crab management. Introduced by State Senator Mike McGuire, SB 1393 applied those recommendations to the law.
“SB 1393 has been long thought out by fleet representatives and Senator McGuire. This legislation gives California’s commercial fishermen the regulatory certainty they need to plan their seasons and protect their livelihoods,” Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations President George Bradshaw said earlier in the year, when the bill was passed by the California Senate. “Fishermen in every port of the Golden State are grateful to Senator McGuire for his continued leadership and advocacy on behalf of the men and women who make their living from California’s multi-million-dollar fishing industry.”
The biggest change implemented in SB 1393 is allowing commercial fishing vessels to transit through closed fishing areas while they have crab and traps on board – which was previously illegal under state law. Fishers would still be required to give advance warning to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) before entering a closed area, filing a notice of intent 72 hours earlier. Vessels would also not be allowed to stop while transiting the closed area, with an exemption for a mechanical issue or similar emergency.
SB 1393 would also extend several Dungeness crab programs that were set to expire in 2030, such as the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program that reviews whale entanglements. That program will now sunset in 2040.
Finally, the legislation established a Dungeness Crab Fleet that would utilize unspent funding to support the DCTF.
The California Assembly passed the bill unanimously on 25 August, and Newsom signed it on 27 September.
