California Dungeness Crab Pot Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries

Category

II

Estimated Number of Participants

570

Target Species

Dungeness crab

Applicable Take Reduction Plans

N/A

Observer Coverage

None

Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured

Blue whale, Eastern North Pacific¹

Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific;

Humpback whale, CA/OR/WA¹

Original Category (Year added to the LOF)

III (1996)

Original Number of Participants

1,475

Basis for Original Classification

Listed as Category III because there was no observer, logbook, or stranding data available.

Past Names

WA/OR/CA crab pot (until 2009)

Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list)

N/A

• Added blue whale, Eastern North Pacific and added a superscript “1” indicating that serious injury or mortality of this stock in this fishery is driving the Category II classification of this fishery.

2014

• Estimated number of participants was updated from 534 to 570.

2011

• Removed the superscript “2” after the fishery and added a superscript “1” after humpback whale (CA/OR/WA stock) in the list of species/stocks killed/injured in this fishery (indicating that serious injury or mortality of this stock in this fishery is driving the Category II classification of this fishery). In 2008, NOAA Fisheries received two reports of humpback whales entangled in, and seriously injured by, pot/trap fishing gear off the coast of California.  NOAA Fisheries determined that one humpback whale was entangled and seriously injured in “CA Dungeness crab pot” fishery gear off of Moss Landing. One serious injury or mortality of a humpback whale (CA/OR/WA stock) results in an annual mortality and serious injury rate of 0.2 animals per year (when averaged over five years) or 1.7 percent of the stock’s PBR of 11.3. Therefore, this fishery is now classified based upon the level of serious injury or mortality of humpback whales (CA/OR/WA stock) rather than by analogy.
• Estimated number of participants was updated from 625 to 534.

2009

• Split from the Category III “WA/OR/CA crab pot” fishery and listed as a separate Category II fishery by analogy to other Category II west coast trap/pot fisheries.  Two reported humpback whale serious injury entanglements (one in August 2005 off the Channel Islands, CA, and one in December, 2005, off San Francisco, CA) could not be identified to a specific type of pot or trap fishery by gear type.  The CA Dungeness crab pot fishery operates with similar gear as that observed and in the same location as the confirmed humpback whale serious injury events. Therefore, NOAA Fisheries categorized the ‘‘CA Dungeness crab pot” fishery as a Category II fishery by analogy to the Category II “CA spot prawn” fishery.
• This fishery has 625 participants.
• Added a superscript “2” after this fishery in Table 2, indicating that the fishery is classified by analogy.
• Added the following species/stocks to the list of species/stocks incidentally killed/injured in this fishery:
  • Humpback whales (WA/OR/CA stock): Based on two serious injury entanglement events from 2002-2006 that could not be identified to a pot or trap fishery by gear type.  This fishery operates with similar gear in the same location as the confirmed humpback whale serious injury events.
  • Gray whales (Eastern North Pacific stock): Entanglements of gray whales in trap and pot gear have been reported; however, NOAA Fisheries had not yet determined which specific fisheries were involved.  Gray whales were added to the list of species/stocks killed or injured in the Category III “WA/OR/CA crab pot” (from which this fishery is split) in 2005; therefore, it remained listed under this separate fishery.  Data related to interactions with gray whales and the newly categorized Category II trap and pot fisheries will be reviewed and discussed in future LOFs.

Changes on the LOF when the “CA Dungeness crab pot” fishery was included in the larger “WA/OR/CA crab pot” fishery

2007

• Added humpback whale (Eastern North Pacific) to the list of species/stocks killed/injured in this fishery based on 14 sightings of humpback whales entangled in trap (11 cases) or pot (3 cases) gear between 2000 and 2005.  Data was insufficient to warrant elevation to Category II for the 2007 LOF, but NOAA Fisheries stated its intent to monitor trap/pot interactions with large whales on the west coast and revisit classification in future LOFs, if warranted.

2005

• Added gray whales (Eastern North Pacific) to the list of species/stocks killed/injured in this fishery because of an interaction documented by the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program and NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement.