California is set to double participation in a pilot program testing the use of pop-up fishing gear for harvesting Dungeness crab – a move that conversation groups say will lower the risk of whale entanglements in fishing gear.
Nineteen commercial California Dungeness crab fishers took part in the 2024 trials, testing a variety of alternative crabbing gears that don’t rely on vertical lines to avoid entanglement issues with humpback whales – which are still listed as endangered in parts of the Pacific.
While the industry has been hesitant to accept the new gear types, participants in the 2024 pilot program were quick to praise the initiative, claiming the gear was effective.
“The pop-ups worked, and we brought home every trap that we set!” Half Moon Bay, California, crab fisher Steve Melz said in a statement put out by Guardian Ropeless Systems – one of the companies participating in the pilot. “The whole test is a complete success: crabbing again in front of home, no dirty buoys to clean, you never go to the wrong end of the string, and not to mention the better price that is paid for the crabs.”
Satisfied with the 2024 trials, the California Fish and Game Commission voted in December to double the number of fishers who can participate in the 2025 trials and test out gear provided by Sub Sea Sonics and Guardian Ropeless under an experimental fishing permit (EFP).
“This EFP provided an opportunity for fishers to get hands-on experience with on-demand fishing gear under realistic fishing conditions in the spring Dungeness crab fishery,” Bart Chadwick of Sub Sea Sonics – one of the other participating pop-up gear companies – said after the 2024 pilot. “The success to date should help to provide a pathway to authorization of the gear for the spring fishery so it is available to all fishers.”
The commission’s vote was praised by conservation NGO Oceana, which has pressured California to implement stronger measures to protect humpback whales from gear entanglements.
“By allowing more fishermen to use pop-up fishing gear, managers are charting a sustainable and productive future for California’s Dungeness crab fishery,” Oceana California Campaign Geoff Shester said in a statement. “Expanded gear testing will pave the way for fleetwide authorization of pop-up fishing gear for use in the spring when conventional crab traps are prohibited due to whale entanglement risk. Fishermen are at the forefront of re-innovating California’s Dungeness crab fishery, and we are now one step closer to California residents and restaurants being able to purchase whale-safe Dungeness crab.”
Commercial Dungeness crab seasons have been regularly delayed on the U.S. West Coast due to low meat yields and concerns over the presence of humpback whales. Both California and Washington have pushed back the start of their seasons to 2025, and Oregon has only partially opened some of its state to harvesting Dungeness crab.
