San Francisco — San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, known to many as a tourist attraction, harbors a small fleet of fishing boats that might otherwise be catching crabs this time of year.
However, migrating endangered humpback whales are now swimming in the same waters outside the Golden Gate strait where crabs are, and long lines of rope that fishermen traditionally use to pull up crab cages have entangled too many humpbacks.
Since 2007, at least 922 humpback whales have been maimed or killed by these ropes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Fisherman Brand Little is able to keep bringing up his catch from the ocean floor because he is using a high-tech system that involves a remote-controlled pop-up balloon-like device that signals the crab cage to head to the ocean’s surface. Little is given permission by the state to fish when some others cannot because of his use of the experimental device, which limits the amount of rope needed.
The U.S. military developed this technology in order to deploy weapons and sensors from the ocean floor. But for fishermen, spending another $50 a cage for the pop-up system in an already cash-strapped industry is a hard sell.
“What you have to remember about fishermen is, these guys have just loss after loss after loss after loss,” Little told CBS News. “So, there’s very little opportunity left.”
The pop-up gear has critics among some fishermen who say it shouldn’t be used. That criticism is rooted in tradition and finance. Many fishermen inherited their trade and don’t want change or government intervention into their fishing practices. Financially, it will cost them money to use the new devices, and they claim that their margins are already too thin.
“I was one of the biggest critics of it,” Little said. “So, I set out to prove that it wouldn’t work. And I kind of had to eat a little bit of crow because after I did it, I said, wait a minute, you know, this might work.”
For about three years now, Little heads out at midnight under the Golden Gate Bridge to retrieve his catch while using the pop-up technology. He says he has not injured a single humpback whale while using it.
The technology is an experiment sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is tasked with regulating the crab fishing season. It does so through a variety of mechanisms, including requiring licenses and validations, setting fishing seasons, limiting the number of crab that can be taken, and implementing trap restrictions to protect whales and other marine life.
“This year, we shortened it (the season) given the heightened risk of migrating whales coming back up the coast,” CDFW director Chuck Bonham told CBS News.
The commercial Dungeness crab season traditionally starts in November and runs through about May. However, Bonham cut the season short by two months this year, delaying the start until January.
Little was not affected, however, because of his use of the experimental device. He can keep fishing and hopes his investment of $25,000 will pay off by catching more crabs without injuring whales.
“The thing the whales eat for food, small little fish called krill, those krill moved more inshore, and the whales followed them, right where our fishing men and women put their gear,” Bonham said. “That has meant, every year, we’ve been entangling whales.”
Less than a month after arriving at KPIX 5 as the 5pm co-anchor and night-side reporter, Elizabeth Cook was in San Francisco’s Mission District covering a chaotic Occupy march when a protester shoved her and her cameraman. With only moments to spare, the team got to safety and filed their report for the 11 pm news.
The post Northern California’s commercial crab season under threat from migrating whales appeared first on CBS News.
