February 23, 2026 6:50 a.m. 

On Friday the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 6-1 to deny a petition that requested crab fishery rules be modified to further reduce the risk of whale entanglement, while urging the department to continue its planned rulemaking process and engagement with NOAA fisheries to obtain endangered species act coverage.

An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife release said whale entanglement has increased in Oregon and other west coast states since 2014. This rise is linked to a growing humpback whale population, changing ocean conditions that increase overlap between whales and crab gear, and improved reporting. Most humpback whales that occur off Oregon’s coast are listed as threatened or endangered.

Commissioners made the decision after reviewing hundreds of pages of comments and hearing testimony from nearly 70 people at their meeting in Springfield. That included crab fishermen and representatives from petitioning organizations including the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other parties. State Representative Court Boice testified, representing the Oregon Coastal Caucus, as did several coastal county commissioners.

Rulemaking to address whale entanglements was already underway, in collaboration with Oregon’s commercial crabbing industry and the Oregon Entanglement Advisory Council, when the petition was received on December 11th. ODFW staff recommended accepting the petition given that rulemaking was already planned and as a way to ensure an open public process and consideration of economic impacts.

More information from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is at: www.myodfw.com.