ST Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 23
Season Opening Delayed for
Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery
The commercial Dungeness crab
昀椀shery in all Fishing Zones (1-6)
will remain delayed due to high
numbers of humpback whales and
a recent con昀椀rmed entanglement of
a leatherback sea turtle in commercial Dungeness crab 昀椀shing gear
lost in a previous season.
CDFW anticipates the next risk
assessment will take place on or
around Dec. 21, 2023, at which
time Director Charlton H. Bonham
will re-evaluate available data to
inform the potential for a commercial 昀椀shery opener and modi昀椀cation
of the recreational trap restriction.
For more information related to
the risk assessment process, please
visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries
page. For more information on the
Dungeness crab 昀椀shery, please visit
www.wildlife.ca.gov/crab.
The California Department of Fish
and Wildlife (CDFW) is continuing
the temporary recreational crab trap
restriction from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point,
Monterey County, (Fishing Zones 3
and 4).
The recreational trap restriction
will be in e昀昀ect until at least the
next risk assessment.
Slack Tide Page 23