cdfw – Fishermens News

Calif. Closes Dungeness Crab Fisheries Early to Minimize Humpback Whale Entanglements

3Apr

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Calif. Closes Dungeness Crab Fisheries Early to Minimize Humpback Whale Entanglements

Aerial and vessel surveys showing that humpback whale numbers are rising as they return to forage off the California coast have prompted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to close commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries, effective April 8. CDFW, which made the announcement on March 28, said the closures will be effective in Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6, from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the U.S.-Mexico border, plus a 30-fathom depth constraint for commercial Dungeness crab fisheries in Zones 1 and 2, from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the Oregon border. Traps used by commercial fishers in Zones 1 and 2 will be prohibited in waters seaward of the 30-fathomn contour. A recreational crab trap prohibition is also being implemented in Zones...

Calif. Lobsterman Convicted of Abandoning Traps

13Mar

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Calif. Lobsterman Convicted of Abandoning Traps

A California lobster fisherman has been convicted in Santa Barbara Superior Court of a multitude of commercial lobster fishing violations, including abandoning traps, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said March 5. It was the third commercial lobster poaching conviction for Christopher Miller, 67, of Los Alamos, since 2014. According to the CDFW, Miller pled guilty to falsifying commercial fishing records, harvesting lobster out of season, then abandoning at least 156 commercial lobster traps around Santa Cruz Island and the Santa Barbara Harbor. After closure of the 2021-22 commercial lobster season and being ordered to remove his lobster traps by CDFW wildlife officers, Miller failed to retrieve any of his traps, posing a significant and detrimental hazar...

CDFW Schedules Risk Assessment Update on Marine Life Entanglement

6Dec

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CDFW Schedules Risk Assessment Update on Marine Life Entanglement

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on Monday announced plans for an assessment on or about Friday, Dec. 8 to determine the marine life entanglement risk for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery. In addition, regulations adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission will allow CDFW director Chuck Bonham the authority to apply management actions to the recreational crab fishery to minimize entanglement risk informed by the state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group is to meet Dec. 6 to review available data and CDFW’s preliminary assessment, after which Bonham is to consider all data available to CDFW prior to determining the appropriate management action to minimize entanglement risk. ...

Humpback Whale Sightings Delay Calif. Dungeness Crab Season

22Nov

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Humpback Whale Sightings Delay Calif. Dungeness Crab Season

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced that due to increased concentrations of blue and humpback whales in fishing areas, a delay in commercial fishing for Dungeness crab in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 has been instituted. Also announced on Nov. 17 was that the season delay in Fishing Zones 3-6 remains in effect. Restrictions are also being continued for crab traps in the recreational crab fishery in several fishing zones. CDFW officials said the next scheduled risk assessment is expected on or about Dec. 7 or 8. In a separate statement also issued on Nov. 17, the international ocean conservation group Oceana said the delay in the Dungeness crab fishing season was aimed at protecting whales, but also due to poor crab meat quality in northern California’s Fishin...

CDFW Delays Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Season Opener

1Nov

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CDFW Delays Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Season Opener

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has said that it expects an assessment by Nov. 17 re-evaluating risks to humpback whales in the area of a Dungeness crab fishery before setting a new date for the fishery opener, which was previously set for Nov. 15. For now, the opening date of the Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma-Mendocino County line remains uncertain. According to CDFW, the risk assessment is expected to inform the potential for a statewide commercial fishery opener on Dec. 1 and the potential as well to modify the recreational trap restriction. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma-Mendocino County line had been scheduled to open Nov. 15 in fishing Zones 3, 4, 5, and 6. CDFW also announced a temporary crab trap restriction in the re...

CDFW Bans Retention of Quillback Rockfish

2Aug

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CDFW Bans Retention of Quillback Rockfish

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is banning retention of quillback rockfish in both recreational and commercial fisheries effective Aug. 7. CDFW officials said July 28 that the combined recreational and commercial take of quillback rockfish would exceed the harvest limits specified in federal regulation for 2023, and that in-season action must be taken to reduce the risk of overfishing. Under California state law when federal harvest limits are projected to be exceeded, CDFW has authority to make in-season changes including adjustments to bag and sub-bag limits. Quillback rockfish, which are found from Kodiak Island in Alaska to Southern California, can grow to up to 25 inches in length and 7.2 pounds, and can live for up to at least 95 years. It has a mild, sli...

Sections of California Dungeness Crab Fishery to Close on April 15

5Apr

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Sections of California Dungeness Crab Fishery to Close on April 15

California fisheries officials plan to close four zones of the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to the U.S.-Mexico border at noon on April 15 to protect humpback whales. The closure, announced March 30 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), impacts Zones 3, 4, 5, and 6. Zones 1 through 6 also remain under a fleet advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. CDFW officials said the recreational fishery remained open to crab traps north of Point Arguerllo, Santa Barbara County, but might be subject to a future trap restriction when humpback whales return to forage in the spring and summer. CDFW also reminded anglers to be prepared to quickly remove fishing gear from remaining open areas if ...

California Hatchery Boosts Fall Run Projection of Chinook Salmon to 9.5M Fish

21Dec

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California Hatchery Boosts Fall Run Projection of Chinook Salmon to 9.5M Fish

California’s Feather Run Fish Hatchery in Oroville is expected to increase production of fall-run Chinook salmon in 2023 to some 9.5 million fish to combat impacts of drought and a thiamine deficiency affecting natural spawning and in-river production. The plan, announced jointly this past week by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), marks the second consecutive year that the Feather River Fish Hatchery will exceed its typical production quota of six million fall-run Chinook salmon to help sustain the state’s commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. This past year, the hatchery raised and released eight million fall-run Chinook salmon smolts. The hatchery, owned by DWR and operated by CDFW, is seeking to produc...

California Fish and Wildlife Schedules Marine Life Entanglement Risk Assessment

21Dec

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California Fish and Wildlife Schedules Marine Life Entanglement Risk Assessment

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) plans to assess marine life entanglement risk for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery on or around Thursday, Dec. 22, using the Rick Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). In addition, regulations adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission provide the CDFW director with authority to apply management actions to the recreational crab fishery to minimize entanglement risk informed by RAMP. CDFW officials noted that the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group was to meet Tuesday, Dec. 20 to review available data and CDFW’s assessment and management proposals. The department was then to consider all data made available to CDFW prior to determining whether the management actions currently in place to delay the commer...

Calif. Delays Dungeness Crab Fishery South of Sonoma/Mendocino County Line

2Nov

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Calif. Delays Dungeness Crab Fishery South of Sonoma/Mendocino County Line

Commercial fishing for Dungeness crab south of California’s Sonoma-Mendocino county line has been delayed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) due to concerns over potential entanglement with high numbers of humpback whales in the area. The commercial fishery had been scheduled to open on Nov. 15 in fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6. CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said this week that based on recent surveys large aggregations of humpback whales are continuing to forage in coastal waters of California and allowing use of crab traps would raise the risk of an entanglement. Bonham said his agency will continue to work with both recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries to protect whales and sea turtles while striving to maximize fishing opportunity. Bonham said...