The crab season this year was cut short to protect migrating whales.
The tests focus on a new technology to make crab traps safer for whales. And proponents of this interesting new technology are hoping the success will finally speed the approval process.
When we first met fisherman Brand Little earlier this year, he gave us a dock-side demonstration of the remote-controlled traps helping to extend the Bay Area Dungeness crab season. The devices eliminate the floating recovery lines that are blamed for entangling passing whales and prompting regulators to cut the spring season short.
With the new devices, the crew can locate an individual trap lying on the ocean floor, then release the recovery line using a remote triggering device, limiting the time a whale can come in contact with it. Little was an early participant in the study.
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"We can retrieve the whole string of traps," he said, showing off the device.
Nearly 20 fishermen took part in the recent gear trial, the largest ever on the West Coast. After deploying more than 23,000 traps, crews were able to recover them with a 98% reliability rate, while harvesting nearly 230,000 pounds of Dungeness Crab. They say the catch is worth an estimated $1.6 million.
"Yeah, it was an absolute success. I mean, it was the first request in the way of the performance of the gear," Little said.
Study sponsors are sharing the results with regulators, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They're hoping to speed the approval process, allowing the entire fleet to use the pop-up traps and reopen the spring season.
Ben Enticknap is with the environmental group Oceana
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"Whether, you know, it actually works well enough at a scale that could be commercially profitable. And now, we're seeing that's actually the case," Enticknap said.
But boat operators like Little say they've already waited since initially testing in the gear. And they argue special permits they're currently being issued leave too many other boats out of the program.
"Some of us can do it and some of us can't. And that is a hang-up point in this whole program. It's not fair. I don't feel good about myself going and harvesting crab when my fellow friend, crabber, who has the same permit as me, isn't allowed to go out there," Little said.
And they say the additional income from the spring season is critical to the survival of one of the Bay Area's most iconic industries.
But officials at Fish and Wildlife counter that managing the fishery is complicated and requires detailed codes to be in place. They told us the agency is still working on a broad update to those regulations, which would cover the pop-up crab traps and other emerging technologies.
But because of the complexity, the general approval is not expected until the spring of 2026.