California Dungeness Crab
iconic. sustainable and uncertain
committed to reasonable managment that protects ocean resources and maximizes opportunity
the crab fishery
When the Dungeness crab season opens, the focus shifts to the water. Deck lights burn through the night, pots stack high on the docks, and crews push out into cold, unpredictable weather. It’s a derby fishery, meaning every boat can set gear at the same time and start hauling 64 hours later. The work is demanding, but this fishery drives local economies and remains a tradition that still defines California’s coast.
For more than a century, the Dungeness crab fishery has been managed through size, sex, and season limits that keep the crab population healthy and sustainable. Over time, additional regulations have focused less on the crab itself and more on how, when, and where people can fish, with the most recent being the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program, or RAMP, introduced in 2020. RAMP uses scheduled risk assessments to decide if management actions are needed and whether the season can open or close.
These regulatory layers have made the season less predictable and the fishery harder to count on for fishermen, ports, buyers, and consumers. PCFFA is committed to data based management that protects ocean resources and maximizes harvest opportunity.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Ten years ago, a marine heatwave drove domoic acid levels high enough to delay the entire commercial crab season for months. When fishing finally began in March, whales were already migrating north, and a spike in entanglements followed. That unprecedented timing created a one-season spike that has never been repeated, but it became the basis for everything that came next. Activist environmental groups sued the State of California over those entanglements, leading to a 2019 settlement that required the creation of the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). That agreement, which PCFFA’s former leadership signed at the time, imposed temporary triggers and rules that still define how the fishery is managed today.
our crab work
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Crab Advocacy
PCFFA represents California’s commercial crab fleet in the decisions that shape how this fishery is managed.
We serve on the DCTF and the Dungeness Crab Gear Working Group, push to protect access and fight for reasonable, science-based regulations and ensure commercial fishing voices are part of the process.
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Practical Solutions
PCFFA leads fleet-driven project focused on solving problems with experience and common sense.
We’re advancing spring longline grappling for maximum opportunity and consulting on data-modernization projects to build smarter, cost-effective systems that reflect how fishermen actually operate on the water.
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Gear Recovery
Commercial Fishermen have always recovered land brought in lost gear to protect the waters they depend on.
PCFFA’s Fishermen’s Gear Recovery Network connects local programs in the Dungeness Crab fishery and beyond, providing training, tools, and coordination to support and expand this longstanding work.
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