Marine Region’s 2023 By the Numbers Report Now Available

The 2023 By the Numbers report is now available for your reading pleasure. The By the Numbers report summarizes some of the most important commercial and recreational fishing statistics from the past year, for your easy review. It also includes a condensed summary of 2023 Marine Region accomplishments.

2023 was a year of high-highs and unfortunately low-lows, but Marine Region staff worked hard to ensure California’s marine fisheries and ecosystems

Commercial Crab Season in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 Set to Open Jan. 5, Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Delay Continues in Fishing Zones 3 – 6

Commercial crab traps
CDFW photo by C. Juhasz

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will open the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 beginning Jan. 5, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. A 64-hour pre-soak can begin on Jan. 2, 2024 at 8:01 a.m. in waters ranging from the Oregon state line to the Sonoma/Mendocino county line. The commercial fishery will remain delayed from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border (Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6) due to elevated numbers of humpback whales and increased entanglement risk.

2022 “Year in Review” and “By the Numbers” Reports Now Available!

Cover of the Marine Region’s 2022 Year in Review report

What did 2022 look like for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Region? As with the rest of the world, one of the prevailing themes was the return to pre-COVID-19 Pandemic activities, which was accompanied by unusual weather patterns that affected California’s marine environment. The Marine Region’s 2022 Year in Review and its companion document, 2022 By the Numbers, outline the hurdles we overcame and accomplishments we achieved last year.

2021 “Year in Review” and “By the Numbers” Reports Now Available!

What did 2021 look like for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW’s) Marine Region? It was not the year many of us hoped for, with continued challenges to research, data collection, and management activities as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on. Two overviews that outline the hurdles we faced as well as last year’s accomplishments are now available in the 2021 Year in Review and its companion document, 2021 By the Numbers.

Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Opens Dec. 1 in Northern California

Commercial fishermen servicing a Dungeness crab trap
CDFW photo by C. Juhasz

Quality test results from Nov. 15 indicate that the commercial Dungeness crab fishery can open on schedule on Dec. 1 in northern California. Dungeness crab collected from Crescent City, Trinidad, and Eureka showed that crab exceeded the meat recovery criteria established by the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee. Following a call with Tri-State managers from Oregon and Washington on Nov. 19, the entire Tri-State area will open Dec. 1. Please refer to Oregon’s and Washington’s respective industry notices for more information.