No crab for the holidays: California's 2026 Dungeness season delayed to protect whales
Published in News & Features
SAN JOSE, Calif. — For the seventh consecutive year, California officials are delaying the Bay Area’s commercial Dungeness crab season because of the high number of migrating humpback whales already getting ensnared by old crab-pot fishing lines and other gear.
And again this year, conservation groups are expressing frustration with what they say is a too-slow transition to safer fishing methods that would allow the industry to get back on the water earlier.
The 2026-27 Dungeness season normally would start Nov. 15 in the waters from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line south to the Mexican border — which for decades meant Californians traditionally enjoyed crab on Thanksgiving and for the winter holidays.
Instead, the season has been postponed until at least Jan. 1, 2027, state officials said, “due to the number of humpback whale entanglements during the 2026 calendar year.”
The decision came down Friday afternoon from Meghan Hertel, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and was made in consultation with representatives of the fishing industry, environmental organizations and scientists.
The next “risk assessment” will take place in mid-December, agency officials said.
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