California Department of Fish and Wildlife delay recreational Dungeness crab fishing again

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Thursday that it is delaying the Dungeness crab season once again until around December 15.

The Sonoma/Mendocino County line through Lopez Point (Fishing Zones 3 and 4, the later including the Bay Area and Central Coast) is continuing the temporary recreational crab trap restrictions because of the presence of humpback whales, according to the CDFW.

They said that crabs caught via other methods like hoop nets and crab snares are not affected by the restriction.

In addition to the CDFW's whale-related crab restrictions, the northern portion of California's coast experienced unhealthy levels of domoic acid, which prevented crab meat quality tests from happening, according to the CDFW. They said that prompted a Fleet Advisory for all of California's fishing zones.

As far as the Central Coast, the CDFW says that, "the delay will allow whales to continue their migration to winter breeding grounds and away from the fishing grounds, thereby reducing entanglement risk."

For more information about Dungeness crab fishery, visit CDFW’s crab web page.