Species
|
Dungeness crab, Cancer magister |
Life history
(biology, habitat, range) |
Temperature-dependent range from Santa Barbara, CA north to AK; most common out to depth of 300 ft and sandy or sand-mud bottom substrate
DFG tagging studies show 5 sub-populations (Avila/Morro Bay; Monterey; San Francisco; Ft. Bragg; Eureka/Crescent City)
Hard-shelled males mate with recently molted females, which can carry 500,000 to 2 million eggs
Regular migrations from estuaries to coastal waters |
Stock assessment status |
No formal assessment, status technically unknown
“Casually healthy” (DFG 2003) - generally not thought to be any biological concern
fully exploited with 80-90% male crabs harvested each season
Highly variable harvests |
Vulnerability |
Pesticides from terrestrial agricultural run-off, especially into nursery areas (e.g. San Francisco Bay)
Productivity likely linked to environmental drivers of ocean productivity (temperature, nutrient availability, circulation, etc.) |
Protected/declared species interactions |
Some stated concern re: crab pot entanglement |
Gear types |
Crab trap; limited allowance for landing trawl-caught crabs, up to 500 lbs |
Gear specifications |
Traps must have at least one destruction device to prevent ghost-fishing by lost traps, at least 2 openings of not less than 4 ¼ diameter; marked with buoy (FGC §9000-9024) |
Associated conservation concerns |
Lack of data on actual # of pots fished in CA waters
Potential for excess pots (and entanglement and abandonment implications)
Unknown fishery impact on food web and materials cycling (crabs are scavengers) |
Management, commercial |
Jurisdiction(s) |
States have jurisdiction out to Federal waters off their coasts (reauthorized by M-S Act until 2016)
California – Legislature for commercial; Commission for recreational
Other Pacific states – Legislature with some devolvement to administrative Fish and Wildlife entities |
FMP |
None (some f/m cite “3-S” management as proxy for plan) |
Code sections |
§§ 8275-8284 and 14 CCR § 132 (Importation of crab) |
Restricted access |
RA program in all three states – CA is vessel-based permit since the 1995-96 crab season
Resident and Non-resident permits issued (R and NR)
No formal capacity goal set but generally acknowledged that fishery is overcapitalized – on average 200 permits unused annually
No reliable estimate of number of traps in the water (last estimate from fleet survey was 171,000 traps deployed coastwide in 2000)
Individual fishermen have indicated increasing the number of traps they fish by 50-100 traps in recent years, especially if participating in the early season |
TAC |
No
Average landings weight was 12,813,450 lbs for 1997-2007
2006 commercial landings weight was 26,170,900 lbs for $44,973,840 (see graphs below) |
Current seasons, size limits, other restrictions |
Males only for commercial purposes
‘Central CA’ fishery – Nov 15 – June 30
Northern CA fishery – Dec 1 – July 15
Size limit – males 6.25 inches or larger |
Fishery closures/ MPAs |
Current and future phases of MLPA process |
Proposed regulations/ Issues |
Ongoing management issues centered on derby dynamics of early season (estimated 80% of total season catch landed in first 1-2 months of season), travel-boat dynamics, and permit latency
SB 1690 Dungeness Crab Task Force – legislation passed in 2008 mandates an industry advisory body with other stakeholders to make management recommendations for the California fishery |
Recreational component |
popular recreational target species; recreational catch estimated to be about 1% of the commercial |
Gears fished/ bait |
Trap |
Code sections |
14 CCR § 29.85 |
Regulations |
No recreational take in San Francisco and San Pablo Bays between Golden Gate and Carquinez bridges
Northern rec season (Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino) – last Saturday in Nov through July 30
All other counties – first Saturday in Nov through June 30
Both males and females can be taken recreationally
Minimum size and bag limits – 5 ¾ inches with a bag limit = 10; except when fishing from CPFV south of Mendocino county the size limit is 6 inches with a bag limit = 6
No more than 60 traps fished on a CPFV |
RecFIN/ CRFS info |
non-finfish data estimates are not included on website
total recreational take unknown but estimated to be less than 1% of commercial landings |
Social context |
Participation statewide |
For 2007-08 season, 506 R and 84 NR issued = 590 total
On average ~ 400 permits fished
In April 2008, the CDC reported that the West Coast Dungeness Crab fishery had the highest fatality rate of any fishery along the West Coast or Alaska |
Participation by area |
North coast ports higher in active permits and production numbers (and fishing area) |
Fishing and trade organizations |
Statewide - Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PFCCA); Fishermen’s Marketing Association (FMA); and Coastal Fishboat Owners Alliance (The Alliance)
By port - Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Bodega Bay, Eureka/ Trinidad, and Crescent City (Del Norte) have crab associations or port groups representing crab, some more active than others |
Seafood industry context |
Product forms |
Live; whole; picked; fresh; frozen |
Seafood selector status |
West Coast Dungeness Crab a best choice |
MSC certification status |
California (and Oregon) Dungeness Crab are among fisheries “undergoing assessment” by the MSC; MSC last posted updates to this process for OR in 9/05, and for CA in 11/05 (www.msc.org) |
Potential for value added |
Most Dungeness crab is sold domestically; processed forms greater than live market; potential to increase live market if derby dynamics are slowed |
Miscellaneous |
Sources |
DFG Marine Region 2004. Annual Status of the Fisheries Report Through 2003. Dungeness crab http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/status/report2003/dungeness.pdf
DFG Marine Region 2001. California’s Living Marine Resources: A Status Report. Dungeness crab http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/status/dungeness_crab.pdf
Danner, S. 2007. Seafood Watch Report: Dungeness Crab. Link to pdf
Hankin, D. G. et. al. 2005. California's Dungeness Crab: Conserving the Resource and Increasing the Net Economic Value of the Fishery. California Sea Grant College Program: Research Completion Reports Available http://repositories.cdlib.org/csgc/rcr/Fisheries04_05/
Lincoln, J. 2008. Commercial Fishing Fatalities – CA, OR, WA – 2000-2006. CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (57)16: 426-429. Web version http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5716a2.htm |
