No surprise, but traps are out, officially: "

CDFW Restricts Recreational Crab Traps and Delays the Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery to Protect Whales from Entanglement

The recreational take of Dungeness crab using crab traps will be temporarily restricted between the Sonoma/Mendocino county line and Lopez Point, Monterey County (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) when the season opens on Saturday, Nov. 4 due to presence of humpback whales and potential for entanglement from trap gear. Recreational take of Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, is not affected by the temporary trap restriction and is allowed statewide beginning Nov. 4, 2023. The use of recreational crab traps in Fishing Zones 1, 2, 5 and 6 is also allowed. In addition, a Fleet Advisory has been issued for all Fishing Zones (1-6) for the recreational fishery. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery south of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line was scheduled to open on Nov. 15, 2023 in Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6. However, the season opener has been delayed in those zones due to presence of high numbers of humpback whales.

“Large aggregations of humpback whales continue to forage between Bodega Bay and Monterey and allowing the use of crab traps would increase the risk of an entanglement in those fishing zones,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham. “We will continue to work with both the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries to protect whales while working to maximize fishing opportunity. We appreciate the ongoing commitment by both the recreational and commercial fleets and the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group to manage entanglement risk in this iconic fishery."

CDFW reminds anglers that the deployment and use of crab traps in any recreational crab fishery (including rock crab) is temporarily restricted in Fishing Zones 3 and 4 until lifted by the CDFW Director. Recreational crabbers should also implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide. In addition, if adopted, proposed regulations for recreational groundfish will allow the deployment of Dungeness crab traps shoreward of the 50-fathom Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) boundary line (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart G) when groundfish are onboard. Until the emergency regulations are in place, no fishing gear of any type may be deployed shoreward of the 50-fathom RCA line when shelf rockfish, slope rockfish or lingcod are onboard.

CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place on or before Nov. 17, 2023, at which time the Director will re-evaluate risk for the Dungeness crab fisheries. That risk assessment is expected to inform the potential for a statewide commercial fishery opener on Dec. 1 and the potential to modify the recreational trap restriction.

For more information related to the risk assessment process, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries page or more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/crab."

One item to note here.  It appears that, since the waters less than 50 fathoms are closed to rockfishing, you may not drop crab gear on the shoreward side of the 50 fathom line if you have rockfish from the other side of the line Crabs first, then rockfish, unless you have a lot of rope on your hoops. 

   This week the weather looks great for offshore fishing for bluefin from Sunday through Thursday. Unfortunately, the moon is very bright with a full moon on Saturday night and won't dim until late in the week. Will that hurt the bite? Dunno, but it probably won't help it.  Clouds may help.