California crabbers will miss the holidays, but can start harvesting Dungeness early next year.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday that Central and Southern California will open for Dungeness crabbing on Jan. 5, 2025, with the northern parts of the state opening on Jan. 15.
Crab Zones 3-6, the areas south of the Mendocino/Sonoma county line to the Mexico border, will open at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 5, with a pre-soak period for crab gear that starts at 8:01 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
“Crab quality tests in northern California could not be completed due to lack of sample collection. Without quality testing data and in the interest of cooperatively managing the interstate Dungeness crab fishery, I am delaying the opening of the Dungeness crab season in Districts 6, 7, 8 & 9 [Crab Zones 1 and 2] until 12:01 a.m. on January 15, 2025,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said in an industry notice.
Additionally, the Central and Southern California areas will be subject to a 50 percent crab trap reduction in an effort to reduce potential whale entanglements. When the northern areas open, fishermen must adhere to a 25 percent trap reduction, CDFW said. Additionally, details about the pot reduction requirements are included in the Director’s Declaration online.
The openings in California also trigger fair start provisions. Under fair start, a vessel is prohibited from taking, possessing onboard, or landing crab in an area previously delayed for a period of 30 days from the date of the opening if that vessel previously participated in other commercial Dungeness crab fishing areas (including those in Oregon and Washington) during the same season, CDFW.
While Dungeness crab has historically been available in time for the holidays, the presence of whales in the fishing areas and entanglements in fishing gear have delayed the season opening in the last several years, according to CDFW. Last season, the northern fishing zones opened on Jan. 5, while the central zones were delayed until Jan. 18. Despite the shortened seasons, the California Dungeness crab fishery remains one of the state’s most lucrative, averaging close to $45 million per year over the last five years, consistent with historical averages.
“Making the decision on when to open the Dungeness crab fishery is never an easy one. It requires careful consideration of the need to protect endangered species while sustaining the livelihood of California’s fishing communities,” Bonham said. “My action [Friday] strikes a balance between the needs of the fishery and the needs of California’s marine species. Reducing the number of traps in the water is a successful management measure we have utilized before. Applying this protective and precautionary measure to the Northern Management Area allows the fishery to open as early as possible and will minimize the risk of entanglements statewide.”
“It is always a good thing when California’s commercial fishing fleet can get to work, delivering healthy, sustainable seafood to our communities,” Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Executive Director Lisa Damrosch said in a statement. “Delays are difficult, and fisheries management is becoming increasingly complex. Commercial fishing representatives remain committed to being productive partners in finding workable, long-term solutions, and we very much appreciate CDFW’s hard work and commitment to collaborating with the industry to set an opening date that balances harvest opportunities with the need to reduce risks to marine mammals.”
Tri-State Dungeness crab fishery managers planned to talk today, Monday, to determine when or if the areas north of Cape Falcon, Ore., including Washington coastal waters, can open or whether another round of meat quality testing should be completed in Washington.
In Oregon, some crabbers noted the ex-vessel price with some processors had risen to more than $5 per pound, with good production of crab around Newport.