On Friday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission revised rules to strengthen the department’s efforts to reducing whale entanglements in Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery.

The revised rules include electronic vessel monitoring, including the installation of devices that provide a vessel’s location and other data. This requirement will take effect in February 2027.

The Commission also established additional criteria and guidelines for approving experimental fishing gear permits, allowing the exploration of alternative gear for the crab fishery that needs to be tested off the Oregon coast.

The new permits could be issued as soon as spring 2027.

Minor changes were also made to allowances for commercial crab buoys and floats, also known as surface gear.

The Commission also adopted new rules for trap checking for nuisance cougars and bears, approved funds for a wildlife crossing project along Highway 101 northwest of North Bend, and recognized members of the Oregon Hunters Association and others for their work on various wildlife and land stewardship programs.

ODFW stated that the Commission meeting will be available at ODFW’s YouTube channel.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/16/odfw-revises-dungeness-crab-fishery-rules/