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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will open the commercial Dungeness crab fishery from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border beginning Jan. 5, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. with pre-soak to begin on Jan. 2, 2025, at 8:01 a.m. This area (Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6) will be subject to a 50 percent trap reduction. The trap reduction is expected to reduce entanglement risk for humpback whales by decreasing the amount of gear and vertical lines in the water.

The recreational fishery for Dungeness crab is open in the portion of northern California that was delayed due to a public health hazard. State health agencies determined that consuming the meat of Dungeness crab taken in waters from the California/Oregon border (42° 0.00’ N latitude) to the southern boundary of the Reading Rock State Marine Reserve (41° 17.6’ N latitude) no longer poses a significant threat for domoic acid exposure.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is continuing the temporary recreational crab trap restriction from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) due to presence of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement from trap gear.

The recreational fishery for Dungeness crab will open on Saturday, Nov. 2 except for one area in northern California due to a public health hazard.

The recreational Dungeness crab season will open statewide beginning Nov. 2, 2024. The use of traps will be temporarily prohibited between the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and Lopez Point, Monterey County (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) when the season opens due to presence of humpback whales and potential for entanglement from trap gear.