The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California has been delayed once again and local fishermen like Tom Capen are calling it the "new norm."
Although the delay this time didn’t come as a surprise to Capen, he says it’s still a serious setback.
"The price of fuel is doubled, tripled and the price of bait is doubled, so it's hard to make it now," Capen says.
The delay affects Fishing Zones 3 and 4, which includes the Central Coast. California Fish and Wildlife made the call in an effort to protect humpback whales from potential trap entanglement.
“The worst being they can actually die from the entanglement itself," said Senior Environmental Scientist Supervisor with California Department of Fish and Wildlife Ryan Bartling. "The tight ropes can constrict and prevent them from swimming or feeding normally. They can limit their ability to feed, reproduce...”
While recreational trapping is open, Capen worries about the impact on crab supply once commercial season finally begins.
“Charter boats take guys out and they have as many as 200 pops out, they do put a dent in the crab resource," Capen says.
Capen and other fishermen have spent years waiting for an incidental take permit, which would allow them to fish even when whales are present. But after four years, they’re still waiting.
“It just it's going to, it's a, it's a long process," Capen says.
Bartling highlights the fact that the process may soon come to an end:
“We expect to take up to a year for them (NOOA Fisheries) to do the analysis, come up with conditions for a permit, and if they approve it, we could have it in hand, probably in late 2025 or early 2026," Bartling says.
Capen says while the delay may not have an impact on holiday prices, it's hard for fishermen to stay profitable.
“If you were one of the last guys fishing crab, you got really a premium price," Capen explains. "But that just doesn't happen anymore because the whales come back and they pretty much shut the fishery down by April, so it's a real short season.”
The next risk assessment is set for Nov. 15.
