{"id":273015,"date":"2026-04-17T19:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/273015\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:25:08","slug":"cdfw-news-commercial-dungeness-crab-pop-up-fishing-gear-now-authorized-for-the-entire-central-management-area-depth-restriction-in-northern-management-area-to-protect-whales-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/273015\/","title":{"rendered":"CDFW News | Commercial Dungeness Crab \u2018Pop-up\u2019 Fishing Gear Now Authorized for the Entire Central Management Area, Depth Restriction in Northern Management Area to Protect Whales from Entanglement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director\u00a0Meghan Hertel\u00a0has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and\u00a0announced changes to\u00a0the\u00a0commercial Dungeness crab fishery<\/a>\u00a0in Fishing Zones\u00a01, 2 and\u00a03\u00a0(California\/Oregon border\u00a0to\u00a0Pigeon Point, 37\u00b011′ N.\u00a0Latitude).\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Fishing Zone 3 (Sonoma\/Mendocino County line, 38\u00b0\u00a046.125\u2019 N.\u00a0Latitude, to Pigeon Point) the\u00a0commercial fishery will close\u00a0at 6 p.m.\u00a0April 30, 2026, at which time the commercial take and possession of Dungeness crab from those waters is prohibited\u00a0with traditional trap gear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Director Hertel is also\u00a0authorizing the\u00a0use of\u00a0alternative\u00a0gear, or pop-up\u00a0fishing gear,\u00a0in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery\u00a0in Fishing Zone 3 beginning\u00a07 a.m.\u00a0May\u00a07, 2026.\u00a0This action is intended to minimize entanglement risk while continuing fishing opportunities as humpback whales return to forage off the California coast.\u00a0Pop-up gear was previously authorized for use in Fishing Zones 4 and 5 on April 3, 2026.\u00a0Pop-up\u00a0fishing\u00a0gear\u00a0uses buoys and lines\u00a0attached to\u00a0traps, just\u00a0like traditional crab traps,\u00a0however\u00a0the buoys and\u00a0lines\u00a0remain\u00a0coiled on the seafloor\u00a0with the traps. When a commercial\u00a0fisherman\u00a0is ready to retrieve their gear,\u00a0a\u00a0remote signal triggers the\u00a0buoy to\u00a0release,\u00a0carrying\u00a0the line to the surface and\u00a0allowing\u00a0for immediate\u00a0retrieval.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Please visit the\u00a0Whale Safe Fisheries webpage<\/a>\u00a0for more information about\u00a0Alternative\u00a0Gear\u00a0types approved\u00a0for use\u00a0and configurations\u00a0in\u00a0the conditional authorization documents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The commercial fishery will remain open in Fishing Zones 1\u00a0and\u00a02\u00a0(California\/Oregon border to\u00a0the Sonoma\/Mendocino County line)\u00a0under existing\u00a0crab\u00a0trap reductions\u00a0and a\u00a0
30-fathom depth restriction\u00a0will be\u00a0implemented\u00a0effective\u00a06 p.m.\u00a0April 30, 2026.\u00a0Based on historical migration data, CDFW anticipates an increase in whale abundance in the upcoming weeks. Individuals should remain vigilant and be prepared to remove gear quickly, to minimize entanglement risk in these Fishing Zones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pursuant to\u00a0Sections\u00a0132.2(a)(2)(F)\u00a0and\u00a0132.7,\u00a0Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,\u00a0permitted\u00a0commercial Dungeness crab vessels\u00a0are authorized to\u00a0retrieve\u00a0lost, damaged, abandoned, or otherwise derelict based on the following conditions:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning on April 3, 2026, at 6 a.m. in Fishing Zones 4 and 5,\u00a0an unlimited number of commercial Dungeness crab traps which are lost, damaged, abandoned or otherwise derelict\u00a0may be retrieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning April 17, 2026, at\u00a06 a.m.,\u00a0vessels or operators using or\u00a0possessing\u00a0authorized Alternative Gear or otherwise\u00a0participating\u00a0in the Dungeness crab fishery as defined in Section 132.8(i) in\u00a0Fishing\u00a0Zones 4 and 5 may retrieve an unlimited number of derelict traps.\u00a0If fishing\u00a0in Fishing Zone\u00a03\u00a0with authorized Alternative Gear\u00a0pursuant to\u00a0Section 132.8(i) only six derelict traps belonging to another may be retrieved and\u00a0possessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning on\u00a0May 7, 2026, at 6\u00a0a.m.\u00a0in\u00a0Fishing\u00a0Zone 3,\u00a0an unlimited number of commercial Dungeness crab traps which are lost, damaged, abandoned or otherwise\u00a0derelict\u00a0may be retrieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning\u00a0on May 28, 2026,\u00a0at 6 a.m.,\u00a0vessels fishing authorized\u00a0Alternative\u00a0Gear\u00a0in\u00a0Fishing\u00a0Zone 3 may retrieve an unlimited number of derelict traps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All crustaceans and finfish must be\u00a0immediately\u00a0returned to the water and not\u00a0retained\u00a0when retrieving lost, abandoned, or derelict Dungeness crab traps\u00a0pursuant to\u00a0the\u00a0Declaration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Permitted\u00a0commercial Dungeness crab vessels\u00a0retrieving gear\u202fpursuant to\u202fSection 132.2(a)(2)(D)\u00a0must\u00a0report their activities to\u00a0LostGear@wildlife.ca.gov<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0LEDMarineNotifications@wildlife.ca.gov<\/a>.\u00a0Any vessel\u00a0operating\u00a0or transiting in an open Fishing Zone may not\u00a0possess\u00a0more than six traps belonging to another vessel,\u00a0pursuant to\u00a0Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 132.2(a)(2)(A).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place\u00a0in\u00a0early May\u00a02026.\u00a0For more information\u00a0related\u00a0to the risk assessment process\u00a0or trap gear retrieval,\u00a0please visit\u00a0CDFW\u2019s Whale\u202fSafe Fisheries page<\/a>. For more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit\u00a0wildlife.ca.gov\/crab<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

###\u00a0<\/p>\n

Media Contacts:\u00a0
Ryan Bartling<\/a>, CDFW Marine Region, (415) 238-2638\u00a0
Steve Gonzalez<\/a>, CDFW Communications, (916) 804-1714\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director\u00a0Meghan Hertel\u00a0has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,17741,116160,17742],"class_list":{"0":"post-273015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-crab","12":"tag-fishery","13":"tag-fishing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}