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Crabbing for Whales

The open ocean. The boat rocking up and down, up and down. Waves splashing up over

the windshield. A faint scent of fresh bait permeates the air. It is almost noon. I begin thinking

about lunch, having gotten up at five thirty to watch the boats depart. A beautiful phenomenon,

their front lights slicing through the fog and drizzle.

I watch the men on the stern, moving with superhuman speed as they pull the forty-pound

traps off the tall pile at the back of the boat. They quickly bait the traps, and toss them over the

side. My uncle guides the boat, cutting swiftly through the waves.

Being out on the ocean like this gives me a thrill unlike anything else that I have ever

experienced. My uncle is a commercial lobsterman on a small island off the coast of Maine.

Every time I went fishing with him, I loved it. These are experiences that I cherish and because

of these experiences, I possess a unique perspective on the fishing community.

I recently became aware of a problem on the East Coast where lobstermen are getting

increased (and some argue, unfair) legislation because right whales are migrating up the coast

and getting tangled in the vertical lines of the lobster traps. This fascinated me since I learned

about it, and I considered doing something around this issue for my Senior Project.

However, this topic is located in Maine. It would be very difficult for me to do a project

based in Maine, as I have no way to get there. So I began to think about this topic but in regards

to California. As I did research and talked to one of my teachers, I found out that the Dungeness

Crab fishing economy was going through a similar issue to the Maine lobstermen. The migration

of humpback whales along the California coast is pushing back the fishing season for crabs and

wreaking havoc on the industry. Fishermen do not know when their season will start or when it

will end. Because I am interested in the crabbing industry and how their season is being
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impacted, and because I enjoy science, my question is: How does the migration of humpback

whales due to climate change impact the Dungeness Crab fishing season, and how does this

impact the fishermen in the industry economically?

Recently, the migration of humpback whales up the California coast has caused the

Dungeness crab fishing season to be pushed back. In 2022, “the local commercial Dungeness

crab fishing season [was] delayed for at least a few more weeks to protect endangered whales

that were observed in fishing zones” (Duggan). When the whales migrate, it cuts off the

fishermen’s access to their fishing zones. This causes a delay of the fishing season itself and in

turn, fishermen lose their income. Delaying the fishing season is the best way to protect the

whales, but it is highly detrimental to the fishermen themselves. They lose out on a big part of

their season, which leads to a loss of revenue and uncertainty as to when their season will

actually start. In 2022, the crab season opening was delayed three times “to protect humpback

whales and other marine life from entanglements” (“Commercial Dungeness Crab Season…”).

Humpback whales, when they are in the area, are at increased risk for getting entangled in

vertical lines. Because of this, the fishing season must be delayed if whales are spotted in the

area. The only other way to protect the whales completely would be to remove the gear that is

causing the whales to be entangled, but this is a very costly pursuit. The best thing to do for the

whales at the current moment is simply to put a pause on the season when whales are in fishing

zones. Because of the danger that vertical lines pose to these whales, there are protections in

place for the whales. To find out more information about the dangers of vertical lines, I

interviewed Daria Sheik, the Management Coordinator for the California Ocean Alliance (COA).

The COA is a nonprofit organization that focuses on protecting marine mammals. Sheik also got

her Masters Degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institute of
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Oceanography. She said, “And if the whales are in the area, at the same time as the Dungeness

crab season, they’re, you know, there are certain protections in place that are going to mess with

their fishing season, unfortunately” (Sheik). Such protections take the form of banning fishing in

those areas. When fishing is banned in those areas, fishermen lose out on their catch. Because of

this, a balance is needed between the whales and the fishermen. One proposed solution is

eliminating vertical lines, but that adds more problems: mainly, completely replacing gear is a

very costly thing to do. But the whales must not get tangled in vertical lines, so ways of avoiding

that must be explored and contemplated.

Humpback whales are at a risk for getting tangled in vertical lines, so vertical lines must

be avoided in areas where they will be. Crab gear was one of the most commonly found dangers

to whales: “The majority of whale entanglements reported off California, Oregon, and

Washington from 2000 to 2012 (46%) were identified as trap/pot gear” (U.S. West Coast Large

Whale…). This statistic demonstrates this simple fact: vertical lines are incredibly dangerous to

whales. Regardless of if other human impacts are affecting the whales as greatly, such as

shipstrikes, when whales get caught in these lines, they are highly likely to die. These lines pose

harm to the whales because “vertical fishing lines used in commercial Dungeness crab gear pose

significant entanglement risks to whales as the lines can wrap around a whale’s mouth, fluke, or

pectoral fins” (Blacow). The lines wrapping around parts of their bodies lead to injury to the

whales, or even death. Because vertical lines are highly dangerous to whales, they cannot be used

in areas where the whales are. This is a large problem because of the crab industry, as crabbers

use vertical lines for their crab pots. Another issue with vertical lines is when they become slack

in the water. I spoke with Cassidy Teufel about this. Teufel is the Director of the Ocean Energy

Resources and Federal Consistency Division at the California Coastal Commission. He works as
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an environmental scientist and marine ecologist. His primary focus is aquaculture, but

aquaculture uses similar types of gear as fishing, so he is familiar with the issues I am focusing

on. He explained that vertical lines going slack is a big issue for any marine animals: “They’ll

kind of typically have a longer lead line or a buoy line than is necessary for the, for the area that

they're fishing in. And so that results in a lot of kind of slack, or loops…that is a really kind of

dominant factor that contributes to entanglement” (Teufel). When the lines in the water are slack,

it is much easier for animals to swim into the lines and get tangled in them. If the lines were taut,

marine life would be less likely to get entangled. The tautness allows for the lines to be wrapped

around the animals if there is a lot of extra line. Whales are also vulnerable to other activities

related to commercial fishing, other than simply the vertical lines: “The whales are also

vulnerable to shoreline pollution, boat traffic, entanglement in fishing gear, and other human

coastline activities” (“Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae)”). Whales are vulnerable to

many things besides vertical lines. However, removing vertical lines can help with eliminating

some of the risk to these whales, with other methods being available. Removing vertical lines

will not get rid of all of the risk, but paired with real time data and other scientific research, the

risk can be mitigated. One way to help whales “is, like, acoustic monitoring. So usually, we take

some gear, and we drop it off, and we pick it up every few months, and then download the data.

And then we can be like, hey, on this day, this was here. But MBARI has a cable [in Monterey

Bay] that is like, in real time, you can kind of hear what animals are around, which is really

crazy” (Sheik). Monitoring, particularly acoustic monitoring, can help with whales because it

provides clear information into when the whales were in the area and how their migration

patterns are shifting in real time, which makes it more efficient for scientists, fishermen, and

decision makers. Knowing where the whales are is helpful in knowing where to put regulations,
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especially if the migration patterns are shifting. This information will help year-to-year to

determine when the fishing season should start.

Whales migrate along the California coast, but due to climate change, their migration

patterns are changing. The Pacific ocean does not hold the largest concentration of whales:

“Current worldwide population is estimated at about 80,000 whales, with the largest number in

oceans of the Southern Hemisphere (about 50,000 whales), and the remainder in the North

Pacific (18,000-20,000 individuals) and the North Atlantic (12,000 whales)” (“Humpback Whale

(Megaptera Novaeangliae)”). Although the largest population of whales is not in the North

Pacific, there are still thousands of whales in that area that need to be protected. Since there are

relatively little compared to the Southern Hemisphere, it is even more essential that these whales

be protected in order to ensure their numbers do not drop even lower. The areas where the whales

reside during different parts of the year are dependent on their migration patterns, and their

migration patterns are largely due to their specific feeding patterns: “They feed in colder waters

during spring, summer, and autumn, then travel to a winter range, swimming in deep water along

coastlines” (“Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae)”). Whales have a set migratory

period, but due to climate change the water temperature has changed. The whales are staying

around the Bay Area longer. Because their feeding locations have changed, the whales are

shifting their migratory patterns and that impacts the fishing industry. The whales are now

staying in the fishing areas longer: “Climate change has altered migration for humpback whales,

which now stay in nearshore fishing zones into late fall instead of migrating to Mexico or Central

America as they did in previous years” (Duggan). Whales used to migrate south in the winter,

leaving the fishing zones clear for Dungeness crabs. Due to the changing and warming

temperatures of the water, the migratory patterns of the whales are changing. They stay farther
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up north longer into the season, and then they return up north earlier than they used to. Because

of this, regulations in the Dungeness crab industry have increased, needing to protect the whales.

These whales have historically been at risk, and they still are today: “Combined with warming of

their feeding grounds, as well as the impacts from other human activities, such changes may

mean that, even after years of recovery, humpbacks’ future remains far from secure” (Mulvaney).

As explained earlier, the whales are facing issues with their feeding grounds. The warming

waters mean that the feeding grounds are shifting, and adds another level of complexity to the

issues that the whales are facing. The whales are still facing issues from humans, such as

shipstrikes, getting tangled in fishing gear, and others, but climate change is causing their

migratory patterns to shift, leading to the whales staying in the fishing zones longer instead of

migrating to where they used to.

It is difficult to manage protecting marine animals while ensuring that fishermen retain

their livelihoods. The whales pose a problem for fishermen when they are in the area. Kilduff

said until the industry starts using ropeless gear, “it's crucial not to put lines in the water that

could entangle some of the ocean's most majestic creatures” (“Commercial Dungeness Crab

Season…”). The whales easily get entangled by vertical lines, which leads to injury and death for

them. Unless the industry switches to ropeless gear, crabbing season will continue to get delayed.

Gear changes pose a problem for fishermen, because switching to ropeless gear is extremely

expensive. During my interview with Cassidy Teufel, we also discussed this. He informed me

that students at UC Santa Barbara are engineering another method for crab fishing, one that

would be less harmful to marine life: “So there’s a pulley underneath the buoy, and a

counterweight on that. And so…no matter what the waves are doing, no matter what the depth is,

the line’s always going to kind of maintain that kind of tightness or rigidness” (Teufel). This
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proposed pulley would work better than the current crab gear, because the line would remain

taut. Loose lines pose more of an issue for the whales, but ensuring that the lines stay taut will

help to reduce whale entanglements. It is also a much more cost-effective method of switching

over to new gear, as installing a pulley would be a lot cheaper than installing pop-up gear.

However, this does not completely solve the issue, because the lines are still in the water and still

pose a risk. Until a consensus can be reached or the issue of whales could be resolved, the fishing

season will just have to be postponed until the whales are out of the fishing zones. This was seen

in 2022, as the crabbing season kept getting delayed: “The opening of the commercial

Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 is delayed. Take and possession of

commercially caught Dungeness crab is prohibited in the delayed Fishing Zones. Crab traps were

temporarily prohibited from being set in Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (Bonham). Pushing the fishing

season back to protect the whales is helpful for marine life, but very harmful to the fishermen, as

their season is delayed. Not only did the 2022 season have to be pushed back, but the 2020 crab

season ended early because the whales showed up in the area early (Simke). Additionally, due to

the whales’ changing migration patterns, they came back into the fishing zones early. This

contributed to a shorter season on both ends. If this keeps happening, the fishing season will keep

getting shorter and shorter. This leads to a huge loss in income for all of the fishermen. This is a

problem, due to how important the fishery is to California’s fishing industries and the economy

in general.

The Dungeness crab fishery is essential to the other California fishing industries. The

Dungeness Crab fishery “produces around 26 percent of all annual fishing revenue and supports

more than 30 percent of all commercial fishing vessels” (Fisheries). The Dungeness crab fishery

is not only important to the fishermen, but is very important to the economy as a whole. If the
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fishing season continues to be pushed back, the fishing economy will suffer. The fishing

economy is very important to Californians, and if the Dungeness crab industry suffers, then the

rest of the fishing economy will also face hardships. Not only do fishermen have to face

regulation due to the whales in the area, but all fishermen have to deal with other regulations and

environmental impact mitigation as well (Fisheries). Fishermen already have to deal with these

things, which impacts their fishing and their fishing seasons. However, adding more regulations

due to the whales and the crabs could drastically cut back on their livelihood and their ability to

fish. One of the ways that the fishing industry could continue without pushback and without

harming the whales is through the use of new gear. An example of such gear would be something

called pop-up gear:

“Pop-up gear,” for example, reduces vertical lines that might entangle whales by instead

using buoys that sit on the seafloor until an acoustic signal from a nearby boat releases

them. But the CCCA argues that the recent progress shows the new technology isn’t

necessary—and that buying the significantly more expensive gear would put most

crabbers out of business. (Simke)

Even though there is a solution to the problem, as it stands right now it is still too expensive. The

fishermen would not be able to sustainably and cost-efficiently switch to pop-up gear without

great losses to their money. It is a good idea in theory, but some fishermen would not be able to

make this switch due to high costs. One of the most essential things to do when working to

protect both the fishermen and the whales is to work with smaller-scale fisheries, because those

are the fishermen that are going to be most impacted by these regulations. As Daria Sheik, my

interviewee and mentor, put it, “you don't want to put the smaller scale fishermen out of business

for because obviously, these large industrial fisheries are going to be able to continue on and buy
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new gear and do whatever they need to do because they're making so much money” (Sheik). The

larger industries would be able to safely switch over to using more expensive gear because their

income is so high, but smaller-scale fishermen, such as some of the Californian crabbers, would

not be able to make the switch. As such, it is very important to keep small-scale fisheries in mind

while discussing new gear and new ways to help the whales. A balance between saving the

whales and protecting the fishermen must be found, and now with advancing technology, it is

very possible to find one. Until then, fishermen must continue to delay their seasons in order to

protect the whales.

Whales are posing a large risk to the crabbing industry, because the crabbing industry

cannot operate when whales are in the fishing zones. These whales are staying up North longer

than they used to, instead of migrating south. This is because climate change is forcing these

animals to change their migration patterns, leading them to stay in fishing zones longer than they

should, causing the fishing season to be delayed to protect the whales. Any delay in the fishing

season causes loss of revenue to the fishermen, and leads to economic hardships for not only the

crabbers but the entire fishing economy. The best way to protect the whales is to shut down the

fishing zones, but that is harmful to the fishermen, so new gear must be created in order to both

protect the whales and the fishermen’s livelihoods. This is a very important topic for many

people. Many small-scale fisheries will be the ones suffering the most, because the larger

fisheries can simply keep buying new gear to keep themselves in business. It is essential to

protect these smaller fisheries, as they are important to the fishing economy. The island of

Monhegan, off the coast of Maine, is largely a fishing island. There are not many people who

live there year-round, but the annual holiday of “Trap Day” marks the beginning of the fishing

season, and everyone participates. Even though not everyone on the island fishes, it is still
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important to everyone that lives there. This is similar for many other fishing communities.

Fishing not only contributes to people’s lives, it is also a part of some people’s culture. Whales

need to be protected as well, because they are important to the ecosystem. Due to the changing

climate, it is essential to protect all species, and removing human-made risk to whales is a good

place to start. In order to protect both the fishermen and the whales, it is clear that advancements

must be made to ensure that the whales do not get tangled and the fishermen are able to continue

with what they do for a living. These findings have laid out a very clear message: Whales are

impacting the fishing season, and the fishermen are struggling because of it.
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Works Cited

Bonham, Charlton H. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) Declaration of

... https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=205966&inline.

Blacow, Ashley. “California Dungeness Crab Season Delays Are Extended off Central Coast to

Protect Whales.” Oceana USA, 15 Mar. 2023,

https://usa.oceana.org/press-releases/california-dungeness-crab-season-delays-are-extend

ed-off-central-coast-to-protect-whales/#:~:text=According%20to%20NOAA%20Fisherie

s%2C%20roughly,even%20severed%20appendages%20and%20drowning.

“Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Delayed for Third Time to Protect Whales.” CBS News,

CBS Interactive, 8 Dec. 2022,

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/commercial-dungeness-crab-season-delaye

d-for-third-time-to-protect-whales/.

Duggan, Tara. “Bay Area Dungeness Crab Fishing Season Delayed Again.” San Francisco

Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Nov. 2022,

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-Dungeness-crab-fishing-season-d

elayed-17602580.php.

Fisheries, NOAA. “Dungeness Crab Fishing Industry Response to Climate Shock.” NOAA, 22

Oct. 2021,

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/dungeness-crab-fishing-industry-response-cl

imate-shock#:~:text=It%20produces%20around%2026%20percent,of%20all%20commer

cial%20fishing%20vessels.

"Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae)." Encyclopedia of Endangered Species, vol. 1,

Gale, 2009. Gale In Context: High School,

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link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2644710299/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=

73a6c28b. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023.

Mulvaney, Kieran. “Humpback Whales Face a Major Setback from Climate Change.”

Environment, National Geographic, 8 June 2022,

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/humpback-whales-face-a-major

-setback-from-climate-change?loggedin=true&rnd=1679346323755.

Sheik, Daria. Personal Interview. 13 March 2023.

Simke, Ariella. “Crabbers Struggle to Protect Whales and Make a Living.” Bay Nature, 30 Sept.

2020, https://baynature.org/article/california-crabbers-want-to-coexist-with-whales/.

Teufel, Cassidy. Personal Interview. 21 April 2023.

U.S. West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Information Sharing Workshop ... NOAA Fisheries,

http://www.opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/project_pages/dctf/ec-meeting-10/finalentangleme

ntwsreport.pdf.