Special popup crab trap systems, designed to avoid entanglements with whales, may be the key to saving the continuously shrinking season.For Brand Little and the crew of the Pale Horse, fishing for Dungeness crab is an increasingly tight business. Like the rest of the fleet, he's watched the crabbing season shrink, with early closures meant to protect migrating whales from becoming entangled in trap lines.
While it's lying on the ocean floor, the boat is able to locate the individual trap, and then trigger the release using a remote device. The buoy shoots to the surface, carrying the line with it. The crew retrieves the line and pulls up the trap, limiting the time a whale could come in contact with it.CA's shortened commercial Dungeness crab season closes early to protect whales
"I definitely think this spring season and the experimental fishing permits is a tipping point in the whole development of this pop up gear for the Dungeness crab fishery. We've gone from having just two fishermen really kind of pioneer and develop the method and the technique. And this is the first time that it's actually being used at scale," he said.