State to Shut Down Sonoma County Dungeness Crab Fishery Over a Month Early

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Wednesday
said the commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma/Mendocino county
line will be closed after May 15 to protect whales and sea turtles from entanglement
with fishing gear.

The closure by CDFW Director Charlton Bonham will remain in
place for the remainder of the 2019-2020 California commercial Dungeness crab season,
which was set to last through June 30 south of the Mendocino-Sonoma county
border and July 30 north of it.

“I have determined that conducting the California
commercial Dungeness crab fishery beyond May 15, 2020 in the Central Management
Area poses a significant risk of marine life entanglement, and that the appropriate
management response is a closure of the California commercial Dungeness crab
fishery in that area effective May 15, 2020,” Bonham said in a news
release.

Source: NBC Bay Area