Thursday August 27, 2026
NRDC —
The California Dungeness crab fishery has completed its first commercial season using pop-up fishing gear, a new technology that helps prevent entanglements of whales and sea turtles.
Preliminary results indicate that around 29 commercial crab vessels fished with pop-up gear in the spring and summer, when the fishery was otherwise closed to protect migrating whales from entanglement. Nearly 151,000 pounds of crab were landed, worth about $1.2 million.
Whales and sea turtles are vulnerable to accidental entanglement in the vertical buoy lines used to mark the location of crab and lobster traps that are on the seabed. Pop-up fishing gear (also known as “on-demand” or “ropeless” gear) works by storing the lines at depth, or replacing them entirely with a lift bag, until the captain is ready to retrieve the pot or trap. In doing so, whales and fishers can safely coexist. Pop-up fishing gear also dramatically reduces the risk of gear loss, helping to prevent ghost fishing and decreasing marine pollution.