Crab season to end early after CDFW settles lawsuit with animal protection group

CA, (KIEM) – For North Coast Crabbers, some have said, this year’s season has been rough to say the least. After the season was pushed back due to poor crab meat quality. A lawsuit between the Center for Biological Diversity and the states wildlife department will end the season three months early, on April 15th.

Officials say, the legal settlement protects whales and sea turtles from entanglement in commercial Dungeness crab gear. The Center for Biological Diversity sued California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2017, after a drastic increase in the number of whale entanglements off the West Coast.

The settlement will also ensure stakeholder input from the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, and order the state wildlife department to pursue a federal permit for protecting endangered species.