Every year during Dungeness crab season, fishermen set out at dawn to cast their traps into the ocean. These crab traps, composed of large cages that sink to the floor, are connected to buoys that remain on the water’s surface. They are left for hours or days at a time, collecting crab and other bottom-dwellers to sell for profit. However, the traps harm marine life when they are poorly managed.

The Dungeness crab season in California starts early November and runs through July. However, an environmental effort by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to preserve a balanced ecosystem delayed the commercial crab season this year until Jan. 18. 

For fishermen like Richard Ogg, the season leads to tremendous profit. But his involvement in the fishing community is about more than the monetary gains at the end of a delivery.

“I’m very passionate about the fishery. I’ll do it till I can’t do it anymore,” Ogg said. “But the main thing I’m interested in [is] making sure that [the] fishery exists for the younger generation.”

As part of a yearly routine, CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham conducted a risk assessment on the Dungeness crab season. Based on the Oct. 27 declaration, the concentration of humpback whales was too high for commercial fishermen to go crabbing without risking the animals’ safety in November. 

“What we’re trying to do is balance fishing [opportunities] with protecting a critically endangered species,” said Ryan Bartling, the senior environmental scientist supervisor at CDFW. “Specifically the leatherback [sea] turtle.”

The first delay of the commercial crab fishing season was announced by CDFW on Oct. 27, 2023. Since then there have been three more delays from October to December. 

“For the 2023 calendar year, there were six entanglements that involved commercial California [fishermen] such as crab gear,” Bartling said. “Five of those were Humpback whales. One of them, unfortunately, was a leatherback sea turtle.”

When fishermen consistently manage their gear, their activity on the water deters marine animals and decreases their chances of entanglement. 

“That’s an important aspect in terms of whale entanglement issues because tending the gear more regularly means that you are paying attention to it,” Ogg explained. “It keeps the activity level higher and the animals don’t tend to get around you.”

Bonham conducted risk assessments in advance of each delay and published a declaration on Jan. 11 to lift the season’s delay on Jan. 18. The three-month holdup would finally end for commercial fishermen. According to the Jan. 11 declaration, the next risk assessment is set to take place on or before Feb. 15, 2024. 

The Fishing Zones as displayed in the CDFW News Archive. 

The leatherback sea turtle is protected by the Endangered Species Act. Humpback whales are no longer endangered, but their feeding behavior puts them at greater risk when fisheries are more active. 

The season’s reopening came with one major restriction: Commercial fishermen are now required to fish with a 50 percent crab trap reduction. 

After the commercial season’s delay was lifted on Jan. 18, Richard Ogg and two other fishermen set out to make up for lost time. Aboard the Karen Jeanne, Ogg and his crew go crab fishing for 12 to 16 hours a day, bringing in smaller shipments of crab than his boat’s 40,000 lb capacity.

“The 50 percent reduction has had good and bad effects,” Ogg said. “It slows the season down in terms of production, which would essentially keep the price up, and it means you tend your gear more regularly.”

With over 25 years of fishing experience, Ogg finds himself involved with many different committees including the Dungeness Crab Task Force and the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group. From his experience, he insists that commercial fishermen are proactive. They expected and understood the reasons for the delays. However, wherever there are traps, marine life entanglement is always a possibility. 

Both the CDFW and representatives of the commercial fishing community want to protect and maintain a healthy relationship with the ocean they work so closely with. 

“We believe in what we do and we love providing a sustainable resource to the public,” Ogg said. “We’re going to make it work.”