On the U.S. West Coast, whales have been documented entangled with gear and debris associated with numerous fishery and non-fishery sources (Saez et al. 2020). The most common source of entanglements is Dungeness crab gear, but other documented sources include pot/trap gear targeting CA spot prawn, sablefish, spiny lobster, coonstripe shrimp, and rock crab, as well as gillnets targeting highly migratory species, salmon, and other fishes.
Dungeness Crab Landings
Dungeness crab fishing activity maps created by the NWFSC. Use this interactive map to view the spatial distribution of Dungeness crab fishing activity off the US West Coast, binned in 4-month intervals from 2010 - 2016 (Feist et al. 2021).