SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today the state will delay the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season to protect endangered humpback whales and other marine life from deadly entanglements. The department’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program determined that too many whales are present for crabbing to occur safely.

At least 11 humpback whales in California have been entangled in fishing gear so far in 2022, despite the wildlife department committing to address the problem in a 2019 legal agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity. Aerial and vessel surveys done Oct. 16-19 showed three blue whales and hundreds of humpback whales off the California coast, meaning the entanglement risk is too great to allow more lines in the water.

“With so many humpback whales in the area and a large number of entanglements already this year, delaying the crab season is the safest move,” said Catherine Kilduff, an attorney at the Center. “State officials are right to be cautious, and we support their decision to put off crabbing a little longer for the sake of our endangered whales. Entanglements are agonizing and often deadly, and we can’t afford to lose more humpbacks to this preventable problem. The ultimate solution is to use ropeless, whale-safe gear.”

The commercial Dungeness crab season was scheduled to open Tuesday, Nov. 15, for crabbers setting traps south of the Mendocino County line to the Mexico border. The next risk assessment is expected to around Nov. 23, 2022.

Three humpback whales were entangled in Dungeness crab gear in March of this year, leading officials to cut last season short, closing it in early April. Fishing gear from unknown sources entangled at least eight other humpbacks in 2022, and two more entanglements are still under investigation. That’s a rise from 2020 and 2021, which saw one entanglement in California Dungeness crab gear each year.

The Center sued the state wildlife department in 2017 for failing to prevent the crab fishery from entangling and killing endangered whales and sea turtles. That lawsuit is on hold until the department receives a federal permit for taking endangered whales and sea turtles.

Entanglements in vertical ropes connected to heavy commercial crab traps cause injuries and death as the ropes cut into the whales’ flesh, sap their strength and lead to drowning. Even if a whale survives, scientists have found that entanglements decrease the fertility of females and stunted growth, making it more difficult for the species to recover.

Each entanglement of a humpback whale, blue whale or leatherback sea turtle violates the federal Endangered Species Act. Because it authorizes and manages the fishery’s operation, the state is liable for causing these unlawful entanglements.