News Archive

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 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 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.

CDFW is continuing the temporary recreational crab trap restriction from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point, Monterey County, (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) due to the presence of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement of humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles with trap gear.

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.