Will there be crab for Christmas? Stay tuned

California gourmands anticipating the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season must continue waiting. State officials this week announced another delay of the season’s opening to protect endangered humpback whales and other species and said they would reevaluate just before the holiday.

The commercial season traditionally opens Nov. 15 but has been delayed each of the past five years as the state has taken aggressive measures to reduce the number of whales getting entangled in crab trap gear. Earlier this month an endangered leatherback sea turtle was found dead in abandoned crab gear off the San Francisco coast.

“We’re already in the danger zone and past where we need to be taking action” to protect wildlife, said Geoff Shester, senior scientist with Oceana and a member of the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group.

Fish and Wildlife officials announced that Director Charlton Bonham will reassess data “on or around” Dec. 21.

Dungeness crab is traditional fare in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the state’s efforts to protect endangered species from getting entangled in fishing gear has run up against those conventions. Humpback whales following the anchovy population have lingered in near-shore fishing zones into late fall and delayed their migration south to breeding grounds in Mexico or Central America later compared to previous trends.

Shester said that while delayed seasons are painful in the short term for fishers and consumers, the goal is to protect the fishery for the long term.

“We want to see the fishery continue, and we want it done in a way that’s safe for our wildlife,” he said.

The delay applies to commercial crab fishers along the coast.

Restrictions for recreational crabbing remain in place from Mendocino County’s southern border with Sonoma County south to Lopez Point in Monterey County, but the state announced it would lift restrictions next Saturday for recreational fishers from Cape Mendocino to the Oregon border.

California wildlife officials this week announced another delay for the commercial Dungeness crab season.