Recent aerial surveys over Dungeness crab fishing ranges above and below San Francisco spotted a large congregation of humpbacks, meaning a halt to the start of this year’s fishing season in the most bountiful stretch of ocean.
“We saw 48 whales on a single flight with pods of three and four animals,” said Ryan Bartling, a senior environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Whale Safe Fisheries department. “We had multiple sightings.”
That means Thanksgiving tables may be without fresh options for what’s a traditional holiday treat for many, though fishery officials are hopeful the Christmas market won’t be lost. But it also means maybe fewer whales, with their often 8-foot-long pectoral fins, will get tangled in the thick ropes connected to heavy commercial Dungeness crab traps.
Just a few days ago, a second plane from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went over the same 700 miles of fishing range and still saw whales. The flights were started a year ago to check for humpbacks, blue whales and the Pacific leatherback turtle lingering in the fishing ranges. More and more reports of animals getting caught, some dying, were coming in, so now if enough animals are spotted, the season gets delayed.
At least 11 humpbacks have been entangled in various types of fishing gear off the West Coast so far this year, according to federal officials.
The fishing season for Dungeness crabs is Nov. 15 through June 30, though the crabs are typically most abundant in the first two months. This is the third time the season has been delayed in three years.
About 450 vessels operate in the six regulated commercial fishing zones between Point Conception and the Oregon border. Two zones in the most northern stretch and two others around Morro Bay have opened for the season. But the area with the highest concentration of vessels – also the more productive fishing grounds – surrounds San Francisco and remains closed.
Last year, wildlife agency staff found whales hanging around until early December. Fishermen didn’t set their traps until January.
Charlton Bonham, director of the wildlife agency, is expected to decide on Monday, Nov. 22, what happens over the next two weeks.
Mike Conroy, president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, said he wasn’t surprised by the delay, but is disappointed it will affect the Thanksgiving market, typically extremely profitable for the fishermen.
“I’m hoping we can save the Christmas market,” he said. “But based on what we heard today, (Wednesday, Nov. 17) there are still plenty of whales around. I don’t see anything happening before Dec. 15.
“If the guys get product in by Dec. 19 or 20, that can save some of the market,” he said.
Conroy, of Long Beach, said he also hopes there are ways to identify whales at some point to make sure the same one isn’t being counted 10 times. Right now, the ocean conditions near San Francisco are such, he said, that whales who don’t have a reason to migrate to breeding grounds, such as juveniles, have reason to hang out.
“The water is cold but there is plenty of food around,” he said.
Humpbacks travel to breeding grounds off Mexico and Central America annually. John Calambokidis, a biologist at Cascadia Research, has identified some humpbacks seen in Northern California in the Mexico waters now, but many still remain off the Central Coast.
“It’s what we expected,” Bartling said of the whales spotted recently in the Gulf of Farallones near San Francisco. “We’re hopeful they would go down to their breeding grounds. We’re expecting by the next flight to see a marked improvement.”
Once those whales do start heading south, they aren’t expected to force closures of ranges already open for the crab season because the marine mammals tend to take a “straight shot” along the coast, the experts said. And, there are fewer fishing opportunities because of ocean topography there.
Wildlife officials will survey the fishing ranges around San Francisco after Thanksgiving, but need cooperation from the weather to have accurate data. Surveys are also done by boat.
“It will depend on the wind, sea surface; we need good visuals,” Bartling said. “At this time of the year, there’s usually one good day in 10 days.”
Officials, including those from the Center for Biological Diversity which in 2017 sued the wildlife agency after the total number of whale entanglements from all fishing industries broke records for three straight years, say the new risk assessment system seems to be helping, with the number of entangled whales spotted declining.
Kristen Monsell, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program, calls the regulations “a step in the right direction” but advocates for more.
“It’s good to see California finally taking whale entanglements seriously,” she said, adding, “We need a transition to ropeless fishing gear.”
Bartling agreed the new regulations are making a difference, but said other factors such as greater awareness among the fishermen and changes they’ve made with their gear, such as removing rope slack and tying fewer knots, are also helping.
“I think more people are paying attention,” he said. “We’re not at zero. I think getting there will be difficult. Whales are inquisitive, but it’s not to say it won’t happen.”
