The California Fish and Game Commission recently adopted emergency regulations for the commercial coonstripe shrimp fishery to reduce the risk of whale entanglements in fishing gear.
The new rules establish a management boundary at the Sonoma-Mendocino County border, a maximum depth limit of 30 fathoms (180ft/55m) for the northern fishery, a limit on the number of traps per ground line, a limit on vertical lines per vessel and a new control date of February 13th, 2025.
The control date may be used to determine future participation in the fishery, the commission said. Fourteen vessels participated in the fishery in 2024, reporting a catch of almost 150,000 pounds, the commission added.
Additionally, the commission approved an EFP application to test longlining gear in the California Dungeness crab fishery. This EFP would take place in spring and utilize a modified configuration of multiple traps connected by a groundline that is retrieved by a grapple, eliminating vertical lines that pose the risk of whale entanglement without use of pop-up gear. The EFP allows for up to 40 participating vessels while limiting the number of traps per vessel, traps per groundline and setting a seven-day trap service interval.
The commission also approved a major amendment request to expand an experimental fishing permit testing pop-up fishing systems in the California Dungeness crab fishery.
The maximum number of vessels that can be authorized to participate in the EFP was expanded from 10 to 40, according to the commission, with increases in the allowed number of traps per trawl and total per-trip traps, depending on a vessel permit’s trap tier; the trap service interval was also increased from four to seven days.
Commissioners approved the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s request for a six-month extension to deliver a “status review report” on the petition to list white sturgeon as threatened.
According to the commission:
“The extension is needed to further analyze and evaluate available science, undergo the peer review process, and complete the species’ status review report. CDFW anticipates receiving substantial comments and scientific information from tribes, stakeholders and other interested parties. The extension will also provide a minimum of 30 days for public review. The Commission must receive CDFW’s status review report, now due January 12, 2026, before making a final CESA listing decision.”
