Oregon Extends Crab Fishing Restrictions to Protect Whales from Getting Caught in Trap Ropes
August 18, 2023 | 1 min to read
Oregon has extended rules limiting the state’s Dungeness crab fishery to protect humpback whales from getting entangled in ropes attached to crab traps, the state’s fish and wildlife department announced. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to continue these measures indefinitely, which include restricting the number of traps and their placement depth during periods of increased whale activity. While aimed at safeguarding marine life, crabbers worry that such regulations may negatively impact the fishing industry.
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon has extended rules restricting the state’s lucrative Dungeness crab fishery in order to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in ropes attached to crab traps, the state’s fish and wildlife department has announced.
Humpbacks, which migrate off Oregon’s coast, and other whales can get caught in the vertical ropes connected to the heavy traps and drag them around for months, leaving the mammals injured, starved or so exhausted that they can drown. Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery is one of the backbones of the Pacific Northwest’s fishing industry, but crabbers fear that overregulation will harm the industry.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted late Friday to extend, with no sunset date, measures that were originally supposed to end after this season, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement. The measures include limiting the number of crab traps in the water and how deep they can be placed in the months when humpback whales are more likely to swim there.
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