by DFG Staff

Dungeness Crab

The commercial Dungeness crab season in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties was delayed twice in 2011 due to soft-shell or poor quality crab conditions. On Nov. 15, DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham delayed the Dec. 1 opening until at least Dec. 16. Subsequent testing indicated the crab would still not meet quality standards by that date, so on Dec. 8 Director Bonham delayed the opening until January 13, 2012. Commercial crabbing took place south of Mendocino County as scheduled, and the recreational Dungeness crab season was unaffected.

Biologists do not know why Dungeness crab are occasionally slow to fill out their newly molted shells, but this delay in development has been documented before. For more information about the commercial Dungeness crab fishery, see the Invertebrate Management Project Web page.

New Recreational Fishing Records

Four new recreational diving and angling records were logged into the books since last fall. On Sept. 29, 2011 Jared Perry caught a 5 lb. 8 oz. grass rockfish (Sebastes rastrelliger) near Santa Cruz to capture the state angling record for that species. On July 31, 2011 Harold Gibson speared a 6 lb. 6 oz. monkeyface prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus) off Carmel to land that species state diving record. And Christopher Cupples started the new year off right by capturing two state records in one day: On Jan. 2, 2012 Mr. Cupples speared a 6 lb. 6 oz. olive rockfish (Sebastes serranoides) and a 4 lb. 10 oz. rubberlip seaperch (Rhacochilus toxotes) while freediving off Carmel, to capture both of those state records. Congratulations to all the new state recreational fishing record holders! For more information about state recreational fishing and diving records, see the Record Ocean Sport Fish webpage.

Pismo Clam

In Dec. 2011 DFG staff and volunteers conducted the eighth semi-annual Pismo clam survey at Sunset State Beach in Santa Cruz County. This survey yielded the lowest clam density and highest mean shell diameter recorded to date. Only eight clams were found in the 29 plots sampled, and shell diameters ranged from about 2 ? in. to nearly 3 inches. In previous surveys, shell diameters ranged from about 1 1/2 in. to a little over 2 in., and densities were over five times higher. This latest survey may indicate that fewer new clams have entered the population in the past several years. For more information about Pismo clams, see the Invertebrate Management Project webpage.