The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the fishing industry are working together to test a new method to protect whales while allowing Dungeness crab fishermen to stay on the water longer. The new method, called pop-up gear, has been used successfully on lobster in Maine, black sea bass in Georgia, and fisheries in Australia and Canada.
The benefits of using pop-up gear are numerous. For one, it eliminates the risk of whale entanglements, which has been a major concern for the fishing industry in recent years. Whale entanglements have become a major issue due to the increasing number of whales that are migrating through the Pacific Coast and the vertical fishing lines that are used to catch Dungeness crab.

• The use of pop-up gear allows fishermen to fish in areas where whales are not present, reducing the risk of entanglements and promoting a safer fishing environment.
• The gear also reduces the amount of fishing gear that is lost at sea, which can harm marine life and reduce the effectiveness of fishing operations.
• Furthermore, pop-up gear can be used to fish in areas where the fishing season is shorter, allowing fishermen to make more money and increase their livelihoods.

Despite the benefits of using pop-up gear, there are also challenges that fishermen face. The cost of the gear is high, with each device costing around $1,000, and the process of restringing the pots can be time-consuming.

“I wish I could just fish and catch Dungeness crab without worrying about whales getting entangled in the lines,” said Brand Little, a San Francisco Dungeness crab fisherman. “This is a way to get our industry back.”

The cost of the gear is a major concern for many fishermen, and some have expressed concerns that the technology is not cost-effective. However, experts say that the benefits of using pop-up gear far outweigh the costs.
The benefits of using pop-up gear are numerous, and the costs can be outweighed by the benefits. For one, the gear eliminates the risk of whale entanglements, which is a major concern for the fishing industry. The gear also reduces the amount of fishing gear that is lost at sea, which can harm marine life and reduce the effectiveness of fishing operations.

Experts say that the pop-up gear has the potential to be used more widely in the future. The technology is currently being tested in the spring season, and if the results are positive, it could be used more broadly in the future.

“I think that every time you have a new technology, there is a lot of resistance at first,” said Geoff Shester, senior scientist at Oceana. “But eventually, the benefits of the technology become apparent and it becomes more widely accepted.”

The pop-up gear could eventually be used to fish in areas where the fishing season is shorter, allowing fishermen to make more money and increase their livelihoods. However, experts say that the technology is not yet ready for wider use and more testing is needed.
The pilot program has been successful in demonstrating the effectiveness of the pop-up gear. The program has been running since 2023, and the results have been promising.

The pilot program has also shown that the pop-up gear can be used to fish in areas where whales are not present, reducing the risk of entanglements and promoting a safer fishing environment. However, more testing is needed to fully understand the benefits and challenges of using the technology.