Wednesday February 5, 2025
KOIN —
State regulators have issued a fleet advisory for Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fisheries, following multiple incidents involving whales entangled in fishing gear.
The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Marine Resources Program issued the advisory late last month, effective immediately. It applies to all fisheries off the coast, and is expected to last through crab season — unless it is “superseded.”
According to ODFW, the advisory comes after a Jan. 6 incident in which a humpback whale on the Central Oregon Coast was found entangled in “multiple sets of commercial crab gear.” The department said this is the first humpback entanglement the National Marine Fisheries Service has reported in the state this year, but there was a “record high” of these incidents throughout 2024.
Officials revealed Oregon commercial crab gear led to four entanglements last year. Three of the affected animals were humpback whales, while the fourth was a fin whale. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes both species are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
The recent advisory calls on crab fishing vessels to “remain vigilant” by keeping their gear away from areas where whales are likely to travel. Oceana, a global organization focused on marine conservation, said the advisory is “woefully insufficient.”