Great success for ropeless gear used for Dungeness crab fishery!

photo credit - Dungeness Crab - SEAFOOD SOURCE OF LOUISIANA

The state of California, nonprofit groups, and industry partners report that ropeless fishing gear is proving to be an effective way to avoid whale entanglements without forcing commercial fishermen to sacrifice Dungeness crab yields.

State-sponsored trials have been running for three years, and this year’s results are especially promising. Twelve participating boats landed more than 217,000 pounds of crab—worth approximately $1.4 million USD—averaging 18,100 pounds per vessel. Each vessel made about 12 trips along a 130-mile stretch of coastline that would normally be closed due to the risk of whale entanglements.

Geoff Shester, senior scientist and campaign director with Oceana California, called the results “nothing less than wildly successful,” noting that even with a significant increase in the amount of gear allowed, not a single string was lost.

The “pop-up” gear system works by using acoustic signals from fishing vessels to trigger the release of buoys tethered to crab pots resting on the ocean floor. This eliminates the vertical lines in the water column that often entangle whales in high-traffic fishing areas. The lines remain safely on the seafloor until a vessel triggers their release.

For the past six consecutive years, regulators have shortened or canceled the Dungeness crab season due to high entanglement risk. Participating vessels in this year’s trial operated under experimental fishing permits issued by the California Fish and Game Commission. Officials say that if the trials continue to prove successful, the gear could become standard for all crab fishermen by 2026.

Original story - E&E News | Article | Ropeless fishing gear for catching crabs shows positive results