The season for commercial Dungeness crab fishing has been postponed in recent years due to risks of injury to whales during their winter migration.
On Thursday, a new petition was filed with the federal government calling for further protection of ocean wildlife during crab season, as it demanded the industry transition to rope-less equipment over the next five years.
The petition aims to require trap-based equipment to be rope-less in order to minimize injuries to the large mammals and other ocean species during fishing season.
The legal petition submitted seeks to save whales, turtles and other ocean species from fishing gear entanglements. The petition targets trap based fishing like crab and lobster. and prioritizes the effort in national marine sanctuaries.
Kristen Mansell is Legal Director of the Oceans Program at the Center for Biological Diversity, the agency that submitted the petition, which is calling for the "the conversion to rope-less fishing gear."
She told KCBS Radio that the purpose of the petition is to "save whales and sea turtles from deadly entanglements."
For example, crab traps are normally dropped in the ocean, and attached with a long rope that on the surface of the water is attached to a buoy - and it’s those ropes that are at issue.
"By eliminating that vertical line that runs through the water column, you eliminate the chance that the whale will get entangled in that line," Mansell said.
However, whale avoidance technologies aren't ready for prime time yet and it's going to be pricey for fisheries to swap out all the gear they use.
Angela Cincotta, co-owner of Alioto-Lazio Fish Co. spoke to KCBS in October with concerns about how, in the end, it will likely be crabbers that suffer the most if the ropes are elminated.
"It's the poor working men and women that are on the losing end of the equation." she said.
Related
