Conservation groups have submitted a petition to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, asking regulators to take action to limit the risk of whale entanglements off the state’s coast following four incidents this year.
“The latest dead humpback whale should be a wake-up call that entanglements in Oregon crab gear are a major problem,” Oceana Fisheries Director Ben Enticknap said in a release. “Oregon fishery managers should act quickly to strengthen conservation measures to reduce whale entanglements.”
The request comes after a year that saw four whales entangled in commercial crabbing gear used by Oregon harvesters. Most recently, a juvenile humpback whale was stranded after becoming entangled, with response crews opting to euthanize the struggling animal 17 November. While that entanglement is still under investigation, officials “strongly suspect” that the culprit was derelict crabbing gear.
“Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has significant concerns about this rate of entanglements, particularly following the three confirmed humpback entanglements recorded in 2024,” the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said in a 5 December fleet advisory issued ahead of the commercial Dungeness crab season. “Crab-fishing vessels should remain vigilant and move or avoid setting gear in areas where whales are transiting or foraging to minimize risk of entanglement as much as possible.”
Some conservation groups, however, are demanding stronger steps from state regulators in addressing the entanglements. In a 11 December petition to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, four conservation groups asked the state to take specific actions, such as reducing the amount of crabbing gear in the water when whales are present and encouraging adoption of ropeless, or popup, gear.
“This year’s horrific entanglements show that humpbacks are in a lot of danger from Oregon crab gear,” Ben Grundy, an oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a release. “If state officials don’t move to adopt whale-safe fishing gear, like pop-up buoys for Dungeness crab pots, endangered whales will continue to suffer and die preventable deaths.”
Among the actions included in the petition is a prohibition on conventional pot gear starting 1 April, meaning traps are out of the water when whales are more abundant; the approval of popup gear for use in the Dungeness crab fishery; public reporting from ODFW on entanglements; and the emergency closure of the fishery when an endangered species is entangled and killed.
The petition was submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the American Cetacean Society. The groups also note that while four entangled whales is a high number, that number will likely be revised higher as officials collect more data, as it has in past years.
“The four humpback whales found tragically entangled in Oregon crab gear are a signal of a much greater entanglement problem, as only a small fraction of them are ever detected,” NRDC Senior Scientist Francine Kershaw said in a release. “The state should take swift, science-based management action to effectively protect endangered whales in Oregon waters.”
