California’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again to protect whales

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in California has been delayed for the seventh straight year to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife says commercial crabbing will be delayed until at least Dec. 1. It’s the latest delay for the start of the commercial season, which traditionally begins in mid-November. The commercial crab industry is one of California’s major fisheries and the shellfish is especially popular around the holidays. Humpback whales can get caught in ropes connected to heavy commercial traps, leaving them injured, starved or so exhausted they can drown.