A environmental group is suing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for alleged Endangered Species Act violations and is claiming Dungeness crab fishing as the culprit.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday claims the state’s allowance of Dungeness crab fishing is causing listed marine life such as leatherback turtles and humpback whales to die after they become entangled in crab fishing gear.
“Dungeness crab dinners shouldn’t come with a side of whale. These entanglements are heartbreaking, illegal and way too common,” the center’s senior attorney Kristen Monsell said in a statement. “California officials can’t let this minefield of crab traps continue to slaughter endangered whales and sea turtles.”
The lawsuit is calling for the court to order the state to obtain a incidental take permit before it can authorize fishing activities that cause the death of listed species.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Kirsten Macintyre told the Times-Standard on Wednesday the department does not comment on pending litigation.
Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, said in a Tuesday evening statement that he finds the lawsuit “disappointing” because it is “designed to divide rather than unite the very groups who are already committed and working hard to finding proactive solutions.”
“Without a healthy ocean we simply cannot fish. This is why we do everything we can to avoid whales when we fish, and fishermen have risked life and limb to help whales escape in some of the rare instances in which they do become entangled,” Oppenheim said.
“This is also why commercial crab fishermen and women are already working hard together with an organized varsity team of state and federal scientists, environmental groups, and the professional marine mammal rescuers themselves to develop and implement best practices for our fishery,” he continued.
Oppenheim said state and federal data shows entanglements are down 81 percent between 2017 and 2016 in California.
The environmental nonprofit states 19 humpback whales, two blue whales and one leatherback sea turtle became entangled in crab gear in 2016, citing data compiled by the National Marine Fisheries Service. That was up from the nine humpback whale entanglements in crab gear in 2015, according to the fisheries service.
According to the fisheries service’s entanglement report, there were 71 cases of whale entanglements in 2016 reported off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington, which marked the highest number since the organization began keeping track in 1982. Of the 71 reported entanglements, 66 of them were off the California coast.
The Center for Biological Diversity states it has filed the lawsuit to prompt “common-sense reforms” including reducing the amount of gear that can be placed in waters normally inhabited by whales and by reducing the amount of rope allowed in the water.
“Ropes wrapped around humpbacks’ heads, flippers and tails can tighten as they swim and may never come loose,” Monsell said. “These tragic entanglements are happening in record-breaking numbers. That’s why we’ve had to sue to force California officials to finally take their responsibilities seriously.”
California established a crab fishing gear working group in 2015 in response to the increase in whale entanglements.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in 2016 drafted by North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) that incentivized the state’s crab fleet to retrieve lost fishing gar in order to prevent entanglements. A bill from state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) that creates a grant program for emergency response to free entangled marine life is currently on Brown’s desk.
“We urge [the Center for Biological Diversity] to abandon this divisive and unilateral litigation, ditch its sideline tactics, and instead get back on the team with the rest of us who are serious about finding solutions for the good of a healthy ocean, California’s coastal communities, and seafood lovers everywhere,” Oppenheim said.
A copy of the lawsuit’s complaint can be found on the Center for Biological Diversity website at www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/fisheries/pdfs/17-10-3_CA_Dungeness_Crab_Entanglement_Complaint.pdf.
Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.
