Monterey fisherman concerned over livelihood after Dungeness crab season delayed again

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday that Dungeness crab season has been temporarily paused between Santa Cruz and Monterey due to concerns over whale safety.

Zones 3 and 4 will have a temporary restriction on the use of crab traps in any recreational crab fishery, said the CDFW. This area covers the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the southern Monterey County line.

This is something that worries Giovanni Nevolos, who has been a fisherman for 45 years.

"How are we going to make money? How are we going to pay our bills? How?," said Nevolos. "I don't know what they're thinking, every month they get their check, for them, it's easy.”

Large aggregations of humpback whales continue to forage between Bodega Bay and Monterey and allowing the use of crab traps would increase the risk of an entanglement in those fishing zones.

We will continue to work with both the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries to protect whales while working to maximize fishing opportunity. We appreciate the ongoing commitment by both the recreational and commercial fleets and the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group to manage entanglement risk in this iconic fishery.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham.

Nevolos thinks this is an unnecessary delay to the Dungeness crab season.

"We don't harm the whales,” said Nevols. “And we don't want the whales in our trap, costing me money and time."

Nevolos thinks the state should come up with more solutions.

"We need money to survive,” said Nevolos. “So they need to find a way, so we can work out together."

The season was set to open on Saturday, Nov. 4, but now Fish and Wildlife will conduct a risk assessment on Nov. 17. This assessment may factor into a statewide commercial fishery opener on Dec. 1.

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