State wildlife agency considers banning crab traps days before start of season

Recreational Dungeness crab season opens Nov. 6 and, in response to new regulations by the Fish and Game Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife may prohibit crab traps in an effort to prevent marine life entanglement.

Fish and Wildlife director Charlton Bonham has the ability to prevent crab trap use in the beginning and end of the crab season. Such a ban could limit entanglement risks from lines and buoys for marine life like whales and sea turtles.