Lawsuit over whale deaths in crab gear

Oakland’s Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday for whale entanglements caused by Dungeness crab gear.

To prevent deaths of hunchback whales, blue whales and leatherback sea turtles, which are all species protected by the Endangered Species Act, the suit calls for using shorter fishing lines and a reduction in crabbing in areas with heavy whale traffic, such as Monterey Bay.

“It’s time for the state to step up and be held accountable and enact some common-sense reforms that are going to be mandatory,” said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.

In the past three years, a record

number of whales were caught in fishery gear on the West Coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There were 71 reported whale entanglements in 2016, up from 30 entanglements in 2014 and the highest number since NOAA began tracking the problem in 1982. Of the entanglements in 2016, 66 were reported off the California coast and 22 were caught in Dungeness crab gear, almost all from California. Others were caught in spot prawn or sablefish traps or gear used in the gillnet fishery.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages fishermen to use practices that would reduce entanglements, but doesn’t require that they follow them. The department would not comment on the lawsuit because it is pending legislation, said spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

The suit names Charlton Bonham and Craig Shuman of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as defendants “for causing the illegal ‘take’ of threatened and endangered humpback whales” in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit comes after the California Dungeness crab fishery bounced back with a strong catch last season, after a very limited 201516 harvest due to an algae bloom that delayed the beginning of the season.

Whales and other animals can get caught in the lines that run between crab traps and buoys, including lost and abandoned gear. The highest number of entanglements in 2016 happened in August, after the Dungeness crab season ended.

NOAA doesn’t yet know what happened to all of the entangled whales from 2016, because many dead animals sink to the bottom of the ocean while some wash ashore with scars or other signs of entanglement.

“Even if the animals don’t immediately drown, entanglements can cause a whole host of problems that will eventually lead to the animal’s death,” Monsell said.

Those problems include injuries that lead to infection, or starvation after the heavy gear causes the whales to slow down and creates difficulty for them in finding food or taking care of their young.