Zone 3 Open For Traps beginning at 9 a.m. this Friday Dec. 17, 2021

Recreational Dungeness crab trap fishing in Fishing Zone 3 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Pigeon Point) will open under a Fleet Advisory beginning at 9 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.

The commercial fishery will open in that area under a Fleet Advisory at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, with a pre-soak period to begin at 8:01 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. The commercial fishery 40-fathom depth restriction will also be lifted in Fishing Zone 4 beginning at 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 26. The presence of humpback whales within zones 3 and 4 has continued to decline, lowering the risk of entanglements. Based on data collected during the most recent risk assessment, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director has determined that risk of entanglement has declined, and it is time to provide fishing opportunity in all fishing zones. However, informed by requests from port and crab boat owner associations in zone 3 to promote a fair and orderly fishery, the season delay in zone 3 will continue until Dec. 29. These groups have requested additional time to prepare and set gear for an orderly start to the commercial fishery. This also gives the remaining whales additional time to leave the fishing grounds, further reducing risk of entanglement when the season opens. For a map of all fishing zones, see here.​

https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/cdfw-announces-start-of-commercial-crab-fishery-and-recreational-use-of-crab-traps-in-fishing-zone-3?fbclid=IwAR3VKqTwahHTtPNjvJY1uLRVjRYNCONUEfXCD12OJFjCyhDZXxN8W6FsRCE

YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!   OH boy I gotta rig my pots for this weekend! 

YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!   OH boy I gotta rig my pots for this weekend! 

Let's gooo!!!!!

Thanks for sharing. This might be good news for folks with traps, but even so, bad news for recreational as the commercial guys would thoroughly clean up the bottom

Thanks for sharing. This might be good news for folks with traps, but even so, bad news for recreational as the commercial guys would thoroughly clean up the bottom

Totally. We will see how it changes now that traps are allowed. the next nice weather weekend will be very telling!!! Commercial opens on the 19th too, so it will be double pressure