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This week, Assembly Member Rob Bont, together with sponsors Social compassion in legislation and Center for Biological Diversity presented FROM 534 Whale Entanglement Prevention Act.
This measure was created due to changing ocean conditions and the fact that California has long been a leader in wildlife conservation and sustainable fisheries, the crab industry continues to use outdated fishing gear that unnecessarily kills and seriously injures endangered whales, sea turtles and other marine species.
This important bill will require California’s crab crab industry and other fisheries to use cable-free tools. November 1, 2025
“California is a global leader in technology and innovation, but we continue to capture crabs with outdated technologies that endanger our beloved marine wildlife,” Member of the Bonta Assembly said in a statement sent to the WAN. “As we move into the future, we can have both productive crab fishing operations and oceans safe for whales and sea turtles. Whale-safe crab gear is now available; now we’re just setting a deadline that crabbers can work with to make the transition needed. ”
Rope-less is the only way to avoid the risk of entanglement while allowing you to continue. The equipment allows you to remotely summon seabed traps to the surface and removes static vertical lines in the water column that confuse whales, sea turtles and other marine animals.
Either the stowed rope and buoy or the lifting bag are on the seabed, attached to a trap that contains an acoustic modem and a GPS that records its location. When the fishermen return to this location, a signal from the second pair modem on their boat, using high frequency sound waves, launches a buoy or lifting bag to reach the surface. The traps can then be raised using traditional crab fishing methods.
“It’s heartbreaking that so many whales are happening off the coast of California,” said Leah Sturgis, vice president of wildlife conservation. Social compassion in legislation. “It is incredible that we have put up with the loss of so many marine life, in particular the endangered Pacific blue whales, of which there are only a few thousand left. So many lives can be saved with this technology. ”
After years of record entanglements reported off the California coast, Department of Fish and Wildlife recently adopted rules to reduce endangered blue whales, humpback whales, and leatherback sea turtles became interested in Dungeness commercial fishing equipment.
However, regulations have not eliminated the risk of obfuscation and rely heavily on ongoing data collection and analysis to inform the implementation of possible mitigation measures. This may only trigger management action once entanglement has occurred, and will also be subject to closures, including delaying the start of the season or ending the season early, as the primary risk mitigation that creates uncertainty for crab lovers about where and when they are. will be able to crawl.
“Whales and other marine life have been exploited by humans for a long time, approaching the point of extinction,” said Judy Mancuso, CEO and founder of Social Compassion in Legislation. “It’s time to prioritize and protect our most magnificent ocean creatures and leave whale entanglements in the past.”
Various types of ropeless crab gear are currently being tested in Canada and the east and west coasts of the United States and are currently being used in the lobster fishery in Australia.
You can help all animals and our planet by choosing compassion on your plate and glass. #GoVeg
The message is breaking! The Whale Entanglement Prevention Act, which aims to end the suffering and death of endangered marine life off the California coast, first appeared in World Animal News.
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