Commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fishing must cease off the Central Coast by March 27, but only for those using traditional fishing gear.  

Those using recently approved pop-up gear that can float to the surface without leaving loose lines in the water will get to keep crabbing until potentially the end of the normal season. 

State regulators decided to shorten the season in Zones 4 and 5 of the managed fisheries from its usual June 30 end date for most fishermen because of a frequent problem with crab fishing: whales getting tangled in fishing gear. Those zones reach from Pigeon Point, in San Mateo County, to Lighthouse Point, in Monterey County.

An increase of humpback whales migrating through the waters was recorded in early March, leading to the decision from California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel to truncate the season for the 10th year in a row. 

However, for the first time, fishermen using a recently approved new type of trap can continue fishing for Dungeness starting on April 3, according to the CDFW. 

The new gear is called pop-up or on-demand gear and went through trials over the last three fishing seasons, according to the nonprofit ocean conservation group Oceana, which researches the impact of fishing on ecosystems. 

Instead of leaving lines extended from a crab cage up to a surface buoy, which causes whale entanglements and injures sea turtles, the lines are coiled on the seafloor along with a buoy that can be activated by the fishermen when they are ready to retrieve it. The buoy is released from a trap and drags the entire line of cages to the surface. 

Hertel said the ability to safely extend the season for the first time despite the presence of whales was “exciting.” 

“For the first time, pop-up fishing gear will allow one of California’s most iconic fisheries to continue,” Hertel said in a statement. “Dungeness crab will still be brought to market while whales and sea turtles are protected from entanglement in those fishing zones.”  

Trials show promise for new gear

Trials in 2024 involved 19 fishermen with scaled down allowances of traps set. In 2025, full lines of up to 50 cages were tested by 12 participants. 

Both years saw success, according to the DFW and Oceana. 

In 2024, participants caught nearly 300,000 pounds of crab with a 98% success rate in traps set. In 2025, the numbers were similar, for a combined value of nearly $3 million during the time the cages were trialed, according to Oceana. 

Trade groups like the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust have previously said they were waiting for more data to assess the economic viability of the gear and its potential impact on a longer season in certain years. 

In 2025, there were four entanglements of humpback whales off California confirmed to be from Dungeness crab fishing gear and another 10 that were possibly caused by that gear. 

From the beginning of this season in early January to March 10 there were three humpbacks and an orca entangled, with two of those humpbacks possibly entangled by Dungeness crab gear, according to the DFW. 

The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations expressed a preference in the past for long-line grappling as a potential solution that is less costly than the newer pop-up technology. 

That method involves sending cages attached to ropes to the bottom without a line floating to the surface, then using a grapple on a line to retrieve them. 

“Fishermen from every port from Crescent City to Morro Bay have expressed interest in longlining traditional gear with a grapple,” the Federation wrote in its application to test the method in 2023. 

The organization reported success and is hoping to make the method more widely available for further trials this season. 

“The trials showed that simple, proven tools can still solve hard problems, offering a practical, affordable way to fish when whales return in the spring without costly new systems,” the organization said on its website.