ODFW Commission Denies Petition For Restrictive Crabbing Rules

A packed hearing room in Springfield became the latest front in a growing conflict over how Oregon should balance whale protection with the economic survival of its coastal fishing communities. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission heard over 5 hours of testimony and in the end voted to deny an Administrative Procedures Act (APA) petition seeking immediate new rulemaking on whale entanglements in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery.The proposed changes were aimed at reducing entanglements of humpback whales and other marine species in crab gear off the Oregon Coast.

The department’s marine staff, led by ODFW Marine Resources Program Manager Justin Ainsworth, opened the session with an overview of the issue and the long-running efforts already underway to cut entanglement risk. Ainsworth described a multi-year collaboration with NOAA Fisheries, the crabbing industry, and the state’s entanglement advisory committee. Since 2019, ODFW and the Commission have adopted late-season restrictions, gear-reduction measures, and accountability tools such as line-marking rules and lost-gear recovery programs.

According to NOAA Fisheries, there were three humpback whale and one fin whale entanglements attributed to Oregon crab gear in 2024, and four humpback entanglements the previous year. Ainsworth noted that while overall coastwide numbers have grown to an estimated 5,000 animals and are expected to be higher when updated through 2024, growth in the smaller, endangered Central America population remains uncertain. Because some humpback populations are listed under the Endangered Species Act, Oregon is pursuing incidental take authorization for the crab fishery and ultimately hopes to secure a federal section 10 incidental take permit from NOAA.

A draft conservation plan is being finalized for submission this year, with a lengthy federal review expected. In parallel, ODFW plans additional rulemaking in August on alternative fishing gears, including so‑called “pop-up” systems, and mandatory vessel monitoring to better map fishing effort relative to whale distribution. While that long-term framework moves ahead, the Commission was asked to decide what to do with the petition, which proposed amendments to six existing rules and three brand-new rules. Among other things, the petition sought more restrictive late-season measures, mandatory authorization of pop-up gear, a prohibition on conventional crab gear after April 1 starting in 2028, new requirements for public entanglement notifications, and automatic emergency closures after certain entanglement triggers.

On one side, the petitioners – including the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Cetacean Society – argued that current measures are not sufficient to protect endangered humpback whales and other marine mammals. Environmental attorneys and scientists told the Commission that Oregon’s continued authorization of the fishery, without stronger measures, risks violating both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They called for rulemaking that they say is better aligned with the best available science on when and where whales face the highest risk.

On the other side, a long line of fishermen, coastal business owners, local elected officials and processors urged the Commission to reject the petition outright, often warning that its adoption would “wipe out” or “destroy” significant portions of the fleet and coastal economies.

Many pointed to what they described as a decades-long record of collaborative, science-based management in the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery, and argued that the existing adaptive framework has delivered both conservation and economic stability. Fishermen repeatedly stressed that humpback populations off the West Coast are stable or increasing and claimed the fishery is not impeding recovery. "We are the stewards of the ocean" said Carrie Brandburg, owner of Chelsea Rose Seafood and treasurer of Oregon Coast Crab Association in her testimony,

Several lawmakers weighed in. Representative Court Boice, chair of the Oregon Coastal Caucus, read a detailed letter urging the Commission to deny the petition, calling it premature, duplicative of ongoing work, and inconsistent with adaptive management. The caucus pointed to an April 2022 NOAA decision denying a similar petition at the federal level, noting that NOAA then concluded West Coast whale populations were stable or growing and that requested emergency regulations were unnecessary. County commissioners from multiple coastal counties echoed those concerns. They warned that allowing petition-driven mandates to override existing state processes would set a damaging precedent and invite more outside intervention.

Fishermen from Astoria to Brookings, processors, and marine supply businesses described the Dungeness fishery as the backbone of the coastal economy, Oregon’s most valuable single-species commercial fishery, and a linchpin for working waterfronts that also support other fisheries and marine trades. No voice captured the mood among fishermen more clearly than that of veteran crabber and Oregon Coast Crab Association president Gary Ripka, who has been fishing Dungeness crab on the Oregon coast for over 45 years. Ripka told commissioners, “I’m here because this petition threatens to put us out of business. I’m asking you to reject this petition.” He insisted that “what we are doing is working,” adding that, in his view, “we have created and managed the most sustainable crab fishery in the world.”

Ripka blasted the proposal to force a rapid conversion to pop-up gear, calling it “untested” in Oregon waters. He also objected to what he described as an outside attempt to seize control of Oregon’s management process, saying the petition gives “an out-of-state route for power” to shut down the fishery based on what he called faulty science and subjective criteria. “Think about that,” he urged. “California groups don’t live here, don’t fish here, don’t depend on this, yet they could close us down.”

He framed the decision in stark terms for the Commission, saying members were being put in a position to be “sued by out-of-state activists or stand with Oregon fishing families and coastal communities.” Ripka told commissioners that if they stand with the fleet and reject the petition, “we have your back.” At that point the room full of crab fishermen, over 200 in attendance and supporters rose to stood in support of what Ripka was saying, promising that fishermen would continue to work collaboratively with ODFW “like we’ve just done for 45 years.” As he closed, he pleaded, “Commissioners, I’m asking you to stand with Oregon, stand with our communities from Astoria to Brookings that depend on us. Reject this petition, please.”

Most of the fishing community countered that Oregon is already on the right track, with a conservation plan nearly ready for submittal, more rulemaking scheduled, and measurable steps taken since 2019. They called the petition premature and disproportionate, warning that rushing untested tools into law would sacrifice coastal livelihoods without guaranteed conservation gain

After hearing all the testimony and reviewing all the written comments the commission voted 6-1 to deny the petition. The commissions message at the end was clear "Oregon will stay the course on its 2026 conservation and rulemaking plan—but expects that work to move faster, be inclusive, and deliver real reductions in whale entanglement risk while keeping the Dungeness crab fishery viable."