California’s Dungeness crab season delayed again — until Dec. 31 at the earliest

Will New Year’s revelers get to ring in 2025 with fresh California Dungeness crab?

It’s not looking likely.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday ordered another delay in the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season — the third so far this year.

After an assessment this week, officials determined that the risk of migrating whales becoming entangled in crab fishing gear remains high for most of the coastal waters from the Mendocino County line south to the Mexican border, director Charlton H. Bonham announced.

The postponement allows more time for the whales’ safe passage to their winter breeding grounds.

CDFW officials have scheduled another assessment for the week of Dec. 15, which — if enough whales have moved south — could give crabbers enough time to set traps for a Dec. 31 season opener.

The 2023-24 commercial season didn’t start at all in 2023, though recreational crabbing was allowed earlier. Fishermen brought up the first crab pots on Jan. 18, 2024. The season ended early, on April 8.

The state’s decisions are made in consultation with representatives of the fishing industry, environmental organizations and scientists.

According to scientist Geoff Shester of the nonprofit conservation group Oceana, a participant in those discussions, so far this year there have been four confirmed cases involving whales getting tangled in commercial equipment, and leftover gear is suspected in several other cases. The numbers from along the full West Coast are the highest they’ve been in the past six years, Shester said.

Oceana and other conservationists are encouraging the use of ropeless gear rather than conventional vertical lines.

The commercial season traditionally starts Nov. 15, and the recreational season typically begins earlier than that. Since 2015, there have been delays in all but one commercial Dungeness season in the Bay Area. A toxin, domoic acid, that could sicken anyone who eats the tainted crab, destroyed Northern California’s 2015-2016 commercial season and created delays in other years.

 

This is a developing story. Come back for updates.