Dungeness crab season set for Jan. 5

ENVIRONMENT

Gear can be dropped on Jan. 2. Fish & Wildlife officials temper ruling with a 50 percent trap reduction

Neil Frasier holds up the first Dungeness crab of the season sold from the fishing boat Plumeria at Fisherman’s Wharf, Jan. 18. The 2.4 pound crustacean was among the catch coming in to port after a two-month long crab season delay. KARL MONDON — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

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By Linda Zavoral

Bay Area News Group

California’s long-awaited Dungeness crab season will get under way early in the new year.

Commercial crab fishers from the Mendocino County line to the Mexican border can drop their gear on Jan. 2, 2025, and start pulling up the first crab pots on Sunday, Jan. 5, the Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday afternoon.

The decision comes after a series of delays since November meant to protect whales from getting tangled in fishing lines abandoned in previous seasons, and it comes with a key restriction: Fleets will have to operate under a 50 percent trap reduction.

In far northern California (Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino counties), the season will not be allowed to start until Jan. 15 because of crab meat quality issues.

The director of the CDFW, Charlton H. Bonham, who makes decisions in consultation with representatives of the fishing industry, environmental organizations and scientists, explained the thinking:

“Making the decision on when to open the Dungeness crab fishery is never an easy one. It requires careful consideration of the need to protect endangered species while sustaining the livelihood of California’s fishing communities,” he said in a statement. “My action today strikes a balance between the needs of the fishery and the needs of California’s marine species.”

Scientist Geoff Shester of the Oceana group, one of the consultants to the state, said conservationists do want to see the crab fishery succeed. “While there still are a lot of whales out there, we are all anticipating the numbers will go down” by the first week of January, he said.

For commercial crabbers, it’s a late but welcome/ start to the season. If last season is any indication, they may get three or four months out of what would normally be a five-month season.