Dungeness Crab fishing will Close in Central Management Area to Protect Whales from EntanglementCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced changes to both commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries in the Central Management Area. These changes, which will go into effect at 6 p.m. on May 1, 2025, are intended to minimize entanglement risk as humpback whales return to forage off the coast of California.The commercial fishery will close in Fishing Zone 3 (Sonoma/Mendocino County line, 38°46.125' N Latitude, to Pigeon Point, 37°11' N Latitude), at which time the commercial take and possession of Dungeness crab from those waters is prohibited. The commercial fishery will remain open in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (California/Oregon border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line 38°46.125' N Latitude) under existing trap reductions and depth constraints. Fishing Zones 4-6 (Pigeon Point to the U.S./Mexico border) were closed for the commercial season on April 15, 2025. A recreational crab trap restriction will be extended to include Fishing Zone 3. A crab trap restriction was implemented in Fishing Zone 4 (Pigeon Point to Lopez Point, 36°00' N Latitude, Monterey County) on April 15, 2025. CDFW reminds recreational crabbers that take of Dungeness crab by other methods (including hoop nets and crab snares) is allowed through the close of the season. #placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');All open Fishing Zones remain under a Fleet Advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. CDFW also reminds all fishery participants to implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide. Commercial Dungeness crab vessels are authorized to retrieve an unlimited number of commercial Dungeness crab traps which are lost, damaged, abandoned or otherwise derelict in Fishing Zone 3 starting at 6 a.m. on May 8, 2025. In Fishing Zones 4-6, permitted Dungeness crab vessels were authorized to retrieve an unlimited number of lost, damaged, abandoned, or otherwise derelict traps on April 22, 2025. CDFW requests that individuals regularly report retrieved gear to WhaleSafeFisheries@wildlife.ca.gov. Any vessel operating or transiting in an open Fishing Zone may not possess more than six traps belonging to another vessel, pursuant to Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 132.2(a)(2)(A). In addition, CDFW has authorized the Lost and Abandoned Gear Retrieval Program to begin removing commercial Dungeness crab traps left in the water beginning May 8, 2025, at 6 a.m. in Fishing Zone 3. In Fishing Zones 4-6, retrieval operations began on April 22, 2025.CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place in early May 2025. For more information related to the risk assessment process or trap gear retrieval, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries page. For more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit wildlife.ca.gov/crab. Persons with disabilities needing reasonable accommodation to participate in public meetings or other CDFW activities are invited to contact CDFW's Accessibility Coordinator in the CRO Office at (916) 902-5577, or send an email to CivilRights@wildlife.ca.gov. Reasonable Accommodation requests for facility and/or meeting accessibility should be received at least 21 days prior to the event. Requests for American Sign Language Interpreters should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event, and requests for Real-Time Captioning at least four weeks prior to the event. These timeframes are to help ensure that the requested accommodation is met. If a request for an accommodation has been submitted but due to circumstances is no longer needed, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator immediately. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });