Will New Year’s revelers get to ring in 2025 with fresh California Dungeness crab?
It’s not looking likely.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday ordered another delay in the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season — the third so far this year.
After an assessment this week, officials determined that the risk of migrating whales becoming entangled in crab fishing gear remains high for most of the coastal waters from the Mendocino County line south to the Mexican border, director Charlton H. Bonham announced.
The postponement allows more time for the whales’ safe passage to their winter breeding grounds.
CDFW officials have scheduled another assessment for the week of Dec. 15, which — if enough whales have moved south — could give crabbers enough time to set traps for a Dec. 31 season opener.
The 2023-24 commercial season didn’t start at all in 2023, though recreational crabbing was allowed earlier. Fishermen brought up the first crab pots on Jan. 18, 2024. The season ended early, on April 8.