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California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced changes to both commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries in the Central Management Area. These changes, which will go into effect at 6 p.m. on May 1, 2025, are intended to minimize entanglement risk as humpback whales return to forage off the coast of California.

CDFW is continuing the temporary recreational crab trap restriction from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) and expanding the restriction to the California/Oregon state line to Cape Mendocino (Fishing Zone 1) due to presence of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement from trap gear. The recreational trap restriction for Fishing Zone 1 will go into effect on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, at 6 p.m. and continue in Zones 1, 3 and 4 until at least the next risk assessment.