The Dungeness crab season is ending early in Northern California.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has ordered crabbers to pull their last pots on June 1, six weeks earlier than anticipated.
The order came because whales get tangled in crabbers lines, so when more whales return to the California coast, crabbing has to shut down.
“So the department does a semi-monthly flyover. If they see too many whales, then they have the discretion to be able to close the season down to be able to protect the whales,” explained Andy at Fish Emeryville.
“The whales seem to be back earlier this year. Whether there’s more of them or they’re just back early remains to be seen, but they’re definitely more prolific than they usually are.”
He says the decision is a good one for wildlife and the policy has likely saved whales’ lives.
“In the last couple years there’s been very few whale entanglements, so that’s good news. The crabbers have found a way to be able to crab and not come in conflict with the whales, so that’s all good,” he said.
What is not good is that this will mean less work and income for crab fishermen, especially since this year’s season already started two months late.
“So it’s a very short season for the guys that make a living doing it.”
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