Last two Dungeness crab fishing zones in California to close June 20. Here’s why
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- California will close final Dungeness crab fishing zones on June 20 at 6 p.m.
- Closures aim to prevent humpback whale entanglements in commercial fish gear.
- Crab traps in closed zones may be retrieved starting June 27 at 6 a.m.
The final two fishing zones open for commercial Dungeness crab fishing on the Northern California’s coast will close for the season after a humpback whale was entangled, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced in a news release Friday.
The closure, which applies to North Coast waters from the Oregon border to the Sonoma-Mendocino county line, takes effect at 6 p.m. June 20, CDFW officials said.
Commercial Dungeness crab vessels can retrieve traps that are abandoned, lost or damaged in the closed zones starting at 6 a.m. June 27.
A zone that includes the waters from Pigeon Point, just south of Half Moon Bay, to the Sonoma-Mendocino border was closed May 1 due to the risk of whale entanglement. The three zones that comprise fishing zones from Central California to the Mexico border were shut down on April 15 for the same reason, state wildlife officials said.
This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM.
