State regulators in Washington have approved a new line marking rule for traps used in the state’s Dungeness crab fishery in the hopes of reducing the risk vertical lines pose to whales.
“These proposed regulations are instrumental in advancing conservation efforts around whale entanglements,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Coastal Marine Fisheries Whale Entanglement coordinator Megan Hintz said in February, when the changes were first proposed.
Whales can become entangled in the vertical lines used in pot trap fisheries like the Dungeness crab fishery, causing injury or death. That risk of entanglement has become a major issue for pot trap fisheries, with regulators forced to delay seasons or end them early when whales are present in commercial fishing waters. California delayed its 2024/2025 season by several weeks due to the prolonged presence of endangered humpback whales off the coast, only getting underway in January 2025. Regulators recently closed part of the season early after whales returned to the region.
States have experimented with different solutions to help reduce the risk of whale entanglements, including piloting popup or ropeless gears that remove the ever-present vertical lines that are most likely to wrap around whales. In 2020, Oregon began requiring crabbers to mark their lines in the coast Dungeness crab fishery.
“The coastal commercial Dungeness crab fishery was the first on the West Coast to implement line marking, and we appreciate the industry's support in developing these new comprehensive requirements,” Hintz said.
At their most recent meeting in early April, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to expand its coastal crab fishery comprehensive line marking rule. The expansion updates gear marking requirements to improve visibility and traceability – crabbers must use a red and black color scheme on their lines so regulators can trace lost, abandoned, or entangled gear back to the Dungeness crab fishery. It also limits surface gear length and the number of buoys that can be used – a move state regulators said would directly reduce entanglement risk.
The surface gear limits will go into effect on December 1.
Crabbers must have a 12-inch red mark on their vertical line through December 2028, after which crabbers will have to mark a minimum of 15 fathoms of vertical line.
Read the full article written by Nathan Strout, Seafood Source. This article is republished with permission.
