News Archive

CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border) effective at noon on April 8, 2022.

California’s recreational salmon fishery will open April 2 in ocean waters from Point Arena south to the U.S./Mexico border, with a minimum size limit of 24 inches. Openings for north of Point Arena will be determined in mid-April.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is issuing a statewide fleet advisory for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery due to a recent humpback whale entanglement, approximately 5 miles west of Cypress Point near Monterey Bay (Fishing Zone 4).

CDFW will hold its annual Salmon Information Meeting via webinar on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public meeting will feature the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries, in addition to a review of last year’s salmon fisheries and spawning escapement.

California anglers who are interested in the recreational Pacific halibut fishery are invited to participate in an online survey that will help inform the CDFW about angler preferences for open fishing dates during the upcoming 2022 season.