This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Read the update here.

In February, California Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) introduced the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act (AB 534), which is a desperately needed measure created to ensure that the crabbing industry does not unnecessarily trap, kill, or injure endangered whales and sea turtles by using antiquated trapping gear. Please join us in urging the California legislature to pass this compassionate and reasonable bill.

In short, the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act will require the California Dungeness crabbing industry and other trap fisheries to use ropeless gear by November 1, 2025. This bill will make California a leader in whale protection overnight if it passes.

This legislation is desperately needed as California has recently witnessed several years of record-breaking numbers of entanglements of endangered blue whales, humpback whales, and leatherback sea turtles. The antiquated trapping gear currently in use requires vertical lines in the water column that entangle whales, sea turtles, and other marine animals, who often drown when they are unable to reach the surface, or die of starvation, or being unable to escape a predator.

While we work towards a world where no marine animals are killed for food or fun, until crabbing ends, the least the industry can do is ensure that its gear doesn't result in the completely unnecessary collateral damage of multiple other species.

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Read the update here.