California Approves Innovative Whale-Safe Pop-Up Gear for Spring Dungeness Crab Fishery
Commercial crabbing with pop-up gear allowed during seasonal closures after April 1 to protect whales from potential entanglement with crab fishing lines
Dungeness crab pop-up gear. Jaqueline L. May 7, 2025
Sacramento, CA — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has approved, for the first time, the use of innovative pop-up gear as an “alternative gear” to catch Dungeness crab off California beginning in the spring of 2026. Commercial crabbers can now use pop-up gear to continue fishing during fishery closures each season between April 1 and July 15. This will protect wildlife like endangered humpback whales from entanglements in vertical lines used with conventional crab fishing gear.
Pop-up gear is comprised of strings of multiple crab traps that remain on the seafloor with the associated lines and buoys until a signal from the fishing vessel releases the lines and buoys to the surface for retrieval, thus preventing entanglements of whales and other wildlife.
The gear has been extensively tested, including one CDFW-approved pop-up gear system made by Sub Sea Sonics and Guardian Ropeless under a state experimental fishing permit for the last three years. This testing culminated in 2025 when crabbers deployed and retrieved gear 1,163 times using Sub Sea Sonics/Guardian pop-up gear with a more than 98% reliability rate. They removed 3,760 vertical lines in the water from April to July, bringing in over 217,000 pounds of crab worth an estimated $1.4 million.
Testing efforts were led by crabbers and supported by gear developers, CDFW, the California Fish and Game Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ocean Protection Council, Oceana, and other conservation organizations.
“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife appreciates the hard work and many years of testing that laid the foundation to authorize this gear,” said Dr. Craig Shuman, CDFW Marine Region Manager. “We look forward to working with the fleet and gear manufacturers to continue to innovate so we can maximize fishing opportunities for California’s hardworking fleet while minimizing entanglement risk.”
At RRI, we believe ocean conservation and sustainable fishing must move forward together. The authorization of pop-up gear represents the kind of innovation that allows both to thrive. California’s coastal waters are home to migratory whales, sea turtles, and other protected species, and they are also home to generations of fishing families who depend on healthy marine ecosystems.
“This is a great day for whales and the Dungeness crab fishery in California,” said Dr. Geoff Shester, marine scientist for Oceana. “We commend the crabbers who took the initiative to make this possible along with the CDFW, gear developers, enforcement officers, Ocean Protection Council, and everyone else who came together to support the effort. Authorizing pop-up gear is a huge step toward ensuring fishermen can catch more crab without worrying about entangling a whale and consumers can enjoy that crab caught during the spring knowing that it is whale safe.”
Whale entanglements in fishing gear have increased in recent years, prompting seasonal fishery closures and stricter limits on the number of traps fishermen can use. In 2025, there were four confirmed whale entanglements in California Dungeness crab gear. NOAA Fisheries estimates that approximately 75% of large whale entanglements are fatal.
“Going in to pop-up gear testing, I didn’t think the concept would ever work for our West Coast Dungeness fishery, but it didn’t take long to see that there was a viable path to restoring the late season crab fishery to the entire fleet that has come to depend on it. This is excellent news for California’s commercial crab fishery.” said Brand Little, a commercial Dungeness crab fisherman who fishes out of San Francisco and participated in the experimental tests for pop-up gear.
We recognize and commend the fisherpeople who participated in trials and helped refine this technology. Their leadership demonstrates that conservation does not have to come at the expense of coastal ecosystems. Instead, collaborative solutions can strengthen the resilience of both marine ecosystems and the fishing community.
As we work to protect ocean biodiversity, RRI remains committed to advancing policies and partnerships that balance ecological recovery with sustainable fishing opportunities for coastal communities.
Additional Information
Information about Alternative Gear and a List of Authorized Alternative Gear are available at CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries Webpage.
Fishermen interested in using the gear can contact the manufacturers listed on CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries Webpage. Along with information on the gear, information on a range of discounts, grants and loans to assist with transition to the gear can be accessed by contacting the manufacturers.
For more details about the 2025 pop-up fishing gear trials please see this statement from the gear manufacturers (Sub Sea Sonics and Guardian Ropeless Systems) and fishermen.
