Dungeness crab season in California will end early this year. Here’s when and why

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is shutting down crab season across the state early, due to recent incidents with humpback whales getting tangled with state commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, according to the agency’s decision Friday.

Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 — which run from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line south to the Mexico border — have been ordered to close at noon April 8. All crab traps must be removed by then. Initially, it was supposed to close at the end of June.

This year’s commercial crab season was supposed to start on November 15, 2021 but was delayed to December due to environmental risks to whales and sea turtles. The early end came after entanglements with whales occurred near San Mateo County and in Monterey Bay.

“The past few seasons have been difficult for fishing families, communities and businesses, but it is imperative that we strike the right balance between protecting humpback whales and providing fishing opportunity,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said in a release. “The fleet has done an impressive job helping CDFW manage risk of entanglement in the commercial fishery, including starting to remove fishing gear when the entanglements were first reported.”

Doing so helps protect the fish population and ocean biodiversity, Bonham said.