Commercial Dungeness crab season to open along portion of California coast

Jennah Pendleton, The Sacramento Bee on Dec 21, 2024

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Mendocino-Sonoma county line will officially open early next month.

Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6, which stretch to the U.S.-Mexico border, will open Jan. 5 at 12:01 a.m., with pre-soak beginning Jan. 2 at 8:01 a.m, according to a Friday news release.

Crab season in the stretch of coast between Mendocino-Sonoma counties and the California-Oregon border will be further delayed because of the inability to conduct industry-sponsored meat quality testing. The season will automatically open on Jan. 15 at 12:01 a.m. under a 25 percent trap reduction.

The commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma-Mendocino county line was set to open Nov. 15, but was delayed because of the presence of humpback whales. The California commercial Dungeness crab fishery typically opens in mid-November, but has been delayed the past several years in order to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled.