An order to end the current crabbing season six weeks early in Northern California will deliver another blow to crab fishermen in Humboldt County after seeing record low landings this season, fishermen said.
Harrison Ibach, a crab fisherman and president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, told the Times-Standard on Wednesday that many fishermen rely on the late-season price surge for their livelihood.
“The price on crab is very high right now. There might not be the most participation (out of the season) but there are still a lot of people who rely on springtime crabbing at a very high price,” he said. “It is quite unfortunate and sad that it is going to be closed earlier than normal.”
California Department of Fish and Wildlife director Charlton Bonham ordered the state’s commercial dungeness crab fishing fleet to end its activities at noon on June 1, approximately six weeks earlier than the normal July 15 end for Northern California crab fishermen. All crab lines must be cleared by the end time set.
The CDFW order comes as surveys show humpback whales are returning to California waters from their winter breeding waters in the south. The state agency has taken input from its risk assessment and mitigation program and the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, a group of commercial fishermen, environmental advisors and others, developed by the CDFW to address whale entanglements.
Whales and sea turtles can become entangled in the commercial crab fleet’s lines, injuring or killing the animals.
The ordered halt in operations comes during a time in which crabbing operations start to wind down but prices are at the highest point during the calendar year. This year fishermen have reported the lowest landing levels in recent memory.
Ibach did not have any numbers on landings, but stated they are at a decades’ low level.
“We haven’t seen any preliminary numbers yet so it’s hard to guess but when they do come out we’ll see that it’s probably been the worst season in three or four decades,” he said.
Mike Cuninhgam brought his lines onshore earlier than usual after the low landings. He normally fishes until the end of the season.
“This year was a poor season overall in Eureka,” he said.
He believes cutting the season short is like being put out of business.
“There are still only six of seven boats still left fishing crabs but the guys are still scratching some crabs out for record-high prices. For those guys who are still trying to catch some crabs and have a season that cuts them short, it’s lost income,” Cunningam said. “When you cut the season off, you’re totally out of business.”
Ibach reiterated the importance of crabbing for many fleet members, as opportunities in other fisheries, such as salmon, are also very limited.
“For a lot of guys that’s the only source of income,” he said.
Bonham made a statement on the shorter season in a CDFW release.
“It has been a very difficult year for many in our fishing communities and I recognize that every day of lost fishing further impacts families and small businesses,” Bonham said. “I acknowledge the sacrifices and resilience of California’s fishermen and women and look forward to continuing to work with the fleet and the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group to minimize entanglement risk while maximizing opportunities.”
The Center for Biological Diversity, which settled with the CDFW after a lawsuit over whale entanglements, acknowledged the move by the state agency to close the Dungeness season but was critical of the timing.“It’s good to see California finally acting to avoid whale entanglements. But we’re disappointed state officials were so slow to take meaningful action and haven’t acted on the promise of ropeless gear to let crabbers keep crabbing,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the center.
Mario Cortez can be reached at 707-441-0526.