In December 1964 interviewing of sport crab fishermen was

begun in Humboldt Bay. A similar study was initiated in

Crescent City in 1965. Fifty-four anglers interviewed at

Humboldt Bay in 1964 and 1965 caught 27 Dungeness crabs,

Cancer magister. The total estimated catch during the

sampling period was 400 Dungeness crabs.

Skiff fishermen in Crescent City caught an estimated 6,318

Dungeness crabs during the 1965-66 season; 1,666 Dungeness

crabs during the 1966-67 season and 5,054 Dungeness crabs

during the 1967-68 season. There is a good potential for

increased fishing in Crescent City Harbor, Trinidad Bay and

Shelter Cove. (10p.

Gotshall, Daniel W.

English

Aquatic Commons

State of California 
The Resources Agency 
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 
Landing Marine Laboratories 
P. 0. Box 223 
Landing, Calif. 95039 
CRAB SPORT FISHERIES I N  
HUMBOLDT BAY AND CRESCENT CITY HARBOR, CALIEORNLA 
Daniel W. Gotshall 
MARINE RESOURCES 
Administrative Report No. 78-12 
September 1978 
CRAB SPORT FISHERIES I N  
HUMBOLDT BAY AND CRESCENT CITY HARBOR, CALIFORNIAU 
by 
2 / Daniel  W. Gotshall-  
ABSTRACT 
I n  December 1964 in t e rv i ewing  of s p o r t  c r ab  f ishermen was 
begun i n  Humboldt Bay. A s i m i l a r  s tudy  was i n i t i a t e d  i n  
Crescent  C i ty  i n  1965. F i f ty - fou r  a n g l e r s  in te rv iewed a t  
Humboldt Bay i n  1964 and 1965 caught 27 Dungeness c r abs ,  
Cancer magister. The to ta l .  es t imated  c a t c h  dur ing  t h e  
sampling per iod  was 400 Dungeness c rabs .  
S k i f f  fishermen i n  Crescent  C i t y  caught an  es t imated  6,318 
Dungeness ca rbs  dur ing  t h e  1965-66 season;  1,666 Dungeness 
c r a b s  dur ing  t h e  1966-67 season and 5,054 Dungeness c r abs  
dur ing  t h e  1967-68 season. There is  a good p o t e n t i a l  f o r  
i nc reased  f i s h i n g  i n  Crescent  C i ty  Harbor, T r in idad  Bay and 
S h e l t e r  Cove. 
1 /
-
Marine Resources,  Admin i s t r a t i ve  Report No. 78-12, September 1978 
21 . 
- 
Operat ions Research Branch, P.O. Box 98, Avila Beach, CA 93424 
CRAB SPORT FISHERIES I N  HUMBOLDT BAY 
AND CRESCENT CITY HARBOR, CALIFORNIA 
DANIEL W. GOTSHALL 
Opera t ions  Resea-rch Branch 
INTRODUCTION 
On t h e  n o r t h  coas t  s p o r t  f i s h i n g  f o r  c r abs ,  p r i m a r i l y  from s k i f f s ,  ha s  
been observed a t  Albion River ,  Noyo River ,  S h e l t e r  Cove, Eel  River  Es tuary ,  
Humboldt Bay, Tr in idad  Bay and Crescent  C i t y  Harbor (Figure 1 ) .  
I n  December 1964, in te rv iewing  of s p o r t  c rab  fishermen was begun i n  Hum- 
b o l d t  Bay (Poole and Gotsha l l ,  1965, Go t sha l l  1966).  A s i m i l a r  s tudy  of t h e  
Crescent C i t y  Harbor s p o r t  f i s h e r y  w a s  undertalcen i n  December 1965 (Gotsha l l  
and Hardy, 1969).  D e t a i l s  of t hese  two stud. ies  are presented h e r e  t o  r e v e a l  
t h e  importance of s p o r t  f i s h i n g  f o r  c rab  o f f  no r the rn  C a l i f o r n i a .  
\ 
Commercial c r a b  l and ings  d a t a  have been a v a i l a b l e  s i n c e  1916, b u t  t h e r e  
i s  l i t t l e  informat ion  on t h e  magnitude of t h e  s p o r t  c a t c h .  The d a t a  t h a t  does 
e x i s t  c o n s i s t  of i n f r e q u e n t  c a t c h  informat ion  from par tyboat  l o g s ,  f i e l d  r e p o r t s  
from F i sh  and Game wardens, and occas iona l  obse rva t ions  by marine b i o l o g i s t s .  
METHODS 
Spor t  c rab  f ishermen were in te rv iewed a t  t h e  completion of t h e i r  f i s h i n g  
day. Sampling w a s  conducted whenever t i m e  permi t ted ;  no a t tempt  w a s  made t o  
randomize sampling days. The in t e rv i ews  were conducted a t  s e v e r a l  s k i f f  
launching sites i n  sou th  Humboldt Bay and a t  t h e  launching f a c i l i t y  i n  Crescent  
C i t y  Harbor. I n  a d d i t i o n ,  fishermen f i s h i n g  r i n g  n e t s  o f f  t h e  Crescent  C i ty  
dock were interviewed.  The r eco rds  f o r  each in t e rv i ew inc luded  number of 
-2 - 
FIGURE 1. Northern California Crab Sport Fishing Localities. " 
a n g l e r s  i n  p a r t y ,  number of  r i n g  n e t s  f i s h e d ,  t o t a l  hours ,  and t h e  number of  
c r abs  caught .  Whenever f e a s i b l e ,  c r abs  w e r e  measured. 
On sampling days,  hour ly  turnover  counts  desc r ibed  by Miller and Gotsha l l  
(1965), were made of t h e  number of  s k i f f s  and dock fishermen t o  c a l c u l a t e  
e s t i m a t e s  of t o t a l  e f f o r t .  
RESULTS 
Humboldt Bay 
Most s p o r t  c r ab  f i s h i n g  t akes  p l ace  from s k i f f s  i n s i d e  t h e  bay. No dock 
f i s h i n g  was observed. During pe r iods  of calm s e a s  a few fishermen ven tu re  o u t s i d e  
the"  bay. 
Twelve days were devoted t o  ob ta in ing  in t e rv i ews  from 54 a n g l e r s  from 
December 1964 through March 1965. None of t h e s e  f i s h e r ~ e n  had f i s h e d  o u t s i d e  
t h e  bay. 
The most product ive  f i s h i n g ,  i n  terms of c r a b s  pe r  day, occurred dur ing  
January (Table 1 ) .  The t o t a l  c a t c h  f o r  t h e  54 a n g l e r s  sampled dur ing  t h e  s tudy  
per iod  inc luded  27 Dungeness c r abs ,  Cancer magistcr, 132 r ed  c rabs ,  C .  productus, 
and 18 rock c rabs ,  C. antennmius. The Dungeness c r abs  ranged i n  s i z e  from 152 
t o  180 mm (6.0 t o  7.1 inches)  carapace width.  From turnover  counts ,  i t  i s  
es t imated  t h a t  800 a n g l e r  days w e r e  s p e n t  i n  p u r s u i t  of c r a b s  by s k i f f  f i s h e r -  
men dur ing  t h e  1964-65 season.  The t o t a l  c a t c h  i s  e s t ima ted  a t  400 Dungeness 
c r a b s  and 2,223 o t h e r  c r abs .  
Crescent  C i t y  Harbor 
Spor t  c rab  fishermen f i s h i n g  from t h e  Crescent  C i t y  dock and from s k i f f s  
i n s i d e  and o u t s i d e  t h e  harbor  w e r e  in te rv iewed dur ing  t h e  1965--66, 1966-67, and 
1967-68 seasons.  Th i s  sampling w a s  conducted by b i o l o g i s t s  w i t h  t h e  P a c i f i c  
Mar.ine F i s h e r i e s  Cooperat ive Por t  Sampling P r o j e c t  f inanced  by t h e  Bartlett 
B i l l  (P.L. 88-309). Dock and s k i f f  f ishermen were in te rv iewed on 25 s e p a r a t e  
days dur ing  t h e  t h r e e  seasons.  The b e s t  ca t ches  i n  t h e  s k i f f  f i s h e r y  were 
observed dur ing  March 1968 when fishermen averaged 9.06 c rabs  p e r  day (Table 2 ) .  
Dock fishermen made t h e i r  b e s t  ca t ches  dur ing  March 1966 (Table 3 ) .  
For some unknown reason t h e  ca t ches  dur ing  t h e  1966-67 season fe1.1 o f f  
i n  both f i s h e r i e s .  This  dec rease  was n o t  r e f l e c t e d  i n  Crescent  C i ty  c o ~ m e r c i a l  
l andings  of 3.9, 4.4,  and 5.0 mi l , - ion  pounds f o r  t h e  1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68 
seasons  r e s p e c t i v e l y .  
Crabs caught by s k i f f  fisllermen ranged i n  s i z e  from 153 t o  191  mm (6.0 t o  
7.5 i nches )  carapace width,  wh i l e  c r abs  caught o f f  t h e  dock ranged from 160 t o  
164 mrn (6.3 t o  6.5 inches)  carapace  wid th  (measured dur ing  1965-66 spason on ly ) .  
Approximately 900, 700, and 700 a n g l e r  days were expended by s k i f f  a n g l e r s  
dur ing  t h e  1965-66, 1966-67, and 5067-68 seasons., r e s p e c t i v e l y .  These a n g l e r s  
caught an e s t ima ted  6,318; 1 ,666;  and 5,054 c rabs ,  r e s p e c t i v e l y ,  dur ing  t h e  
t h r e e  seasons.  
The es t imated  e f f o r t  and ca t ch  f o r  t h e  dock fishermen f o r  t h e  t h r e e  seasons 
Tms 800, 350, and 150 a n g l e r  days and 624, 116, and 75 c rabs ,  r e s p e c t i v e l y .  
DISCUSSION 
From t h e  Hurnboldt Bay and Crescent  C i ty  Harbor s t u d i e s ,  i t  i s  apparent  
t h a t  t h e  ca t ches  of spor t f i shermen a r e  i n s i g n i f i c a n t  when compared t o  t h e  com- 
merc i a l  ca t ch .  For t h e  t h r e e  seasons  sampled, and us ing  a two pound average 
f o r  each c rab  caught,  t h e  s p o r t  c a t c h  amounted t o  .4,  .08, and .2 pe rcen t  of 
t h e  commercial poundage. The Humboldt Bay s tudy  probably does n o t  t r u l y  r ep re -  
s e n t  c a t c h  and e f f o r t  p a t t e n i s  dur ing  t h e  last  few seasons;  obse rva t ions  by 
marine wardens i n d i c a t e  f i s h i n g  success  was b e t t e r ,  p a r t i c u l a r l y  dur ing  t h e  
1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons .  The wardens a l s o  noted  t h a t  t h e  b e s t  ca t ches  came 
from o u t s i d e  t h e  bay. 
Tlze s p o r t f i s h e r i e s  f o r  c r a b s  a t  Tr in idad ,  Ee l  River  Estuary,  S h e l t e r  Cove, 
Noyo River ,  and Albion, probabl-y are not  of t h e  same magnitude a s  t h e  Humboldt 
Bay and Crescent  C i ty  Harbor f i s h e r i e s .  From t h e  s t u d i e s ,  i t  appears  t h a t  t h e  
s i z e  of t h e  s p o r t f i s h c r y  depends f i r s t  on a c c e s s i b i l i t y ,  i . e . ,  launching ramps, 
docks; and secondly, on t h e  abundance of l e g a l  s i z e  c r abs .  The Crescent Ci ty  
Iiarbor, bo th  i n s i d e  a ~ i d  o u t s i d e ,  o f f e r s  b o t h  a c c e s s i b i l i t y  and a h igh  abundance 
of c r abs ,  and t h e  t o t a l  e f f o r t  i n  t h i s  f i s h e r y  w i l l  probably i n c r e a s e  s i g r i i f i c a n t l y  
i n  t h e  f u t u r e .  There i s  n o t  much p o t e n t i a l  f o r  an i n c r e a s e  i n  t o t a l  e f f o r t  i n  
Humboldt Bay. Any f u t u r e  i n c r e a s e  i n  e f f o r t  would be d i r e c t e d  towards c r abs  
o u t s i d e  t h e  bay. 
There is  a good p o t e n t i a l  f o r  f a i r l y  l a r g e  crab s p o r t f i s h e r i e s  a t  Tr in idad  
and S h e l t e r  Cove i f  breakwaters  a r e  cons t ruc ted  t o  a l l ow s a f e  launching of sula.11 
b o a t s  dur ing  t h e  w i n t e r .  
REEEi'ICES 
' Gotsha l l ,  Daniel  W .  1966. Marine r e sou rces  of Humboldt Bay, - i n  A symposium 
on Hunboldt Bay, sponsored by t h e  Center  f o r  Community Development, Hum- 
b o l d t  S t a t e  College and Un ive r s i t y  of C a l i f o r n i a  Extension;  23-36. 
Gotsha l l ,  Daniel  W. and Robert Hardy. 1969. F i n a l  Report of P o r t  San~pl ing ,  
January 1966 - November 1968, Pac. P i a r .  F i sh .  Comm., 21s t  Report f o r  t h e  
Year 1968; 28-35. 
M i l l e r ,  Daniel  J. and Danie l  Gotsha l l .  1965. Ocean s p o r t f i s h  ca t ch  and e f f o r t  
from Oregon t o  P o i n t  Arguel lo,  C a l i f o r n i a ,  J u l y  1, 1957 - June 30, 1961. 
Ca l i f .  Dept. F i sh  & Came F i sh  Bul l .  130:l-135. 
Poole,  Richard and Dan Go t sha l l .  1965. Regulat ions and t h e  market crab 
f i s h e r y .  Outdoor C a l i f .  , 24 (9) : 7-8. 
A 1. Sumiary o f  Dungeness Crab S k i f f  Sport Fishery Sampling, Hu~nboldt  Bay, 1964-65 
I Angler Dungeness Crabs per 
Month Anglers Slcif fs Nets Hours Crabs hng l s r  Day 
A _ .  ----------- -- ----- --- 
December 2 5 12 9 0 36 9 0.36 
January 1 8  8 7 5 3 3 1 7  0.94 
2 
-
1 
-
5 
-
4 
-
1 
-
0.50 
TOTALS 54 24 185 85 2 7 0.50 
TABLE 2. Smmary of Dungeness Crab S k i f f  S p o r t  F i s h e r y  Sampling,  C r e s c e n t  C i t y  
Harbor,  1966 - 1968. 
1965-66 Season 
Angler  Dmgeness Crabs pclr 
Month A n g l e r s  S k i f f s  Nets Hours Crabs  Angler Day 
January  . 5  
February  4 0 
A p r i l  - 7 3 
-
1 2  
- .  
3 3 
-
58 
-- 
8.28 
TOTALS 6 0 2 5 16 9 184 421 7.02 
January  
February 
1966-67 Season 
1 5  4 2 3 89 
6 3 8 28 
March 2 
-
1 
-
7 
-
4 
-
TOTALS 2 9 11 5 2 167 
December 9 
January  2 0 
February  1 3  
March - 1 6  
TOTALS ' 58  
* No d a t a .  
TABLE 3 .  Summary of Du! s Crab Dock Spor t  F i she ry  Sampling, Crescent  C i ty  Harbor,  
1966 - 1968. 
1965-66 Season 
Angler Dungenes s Crabs pel: 
Month Anglers  Nets Hours Crabs Anglcr Day 
- - 
January  3 0 6 8 5 1 32 
February 20 31 2 4 5 0.25 
March 3 7 7 4 1.33  
A p r i l  - 1 3 
-- 
4 
-
1 
-- 
1.00 
-.. 
TOTALS 54 % 10 9 8 6 4 2 
1966-67 Season 
December 2 1 4 3  3 8 12 
January 2 G 8 
February 1 0  15  1 6  
March - 6 1 0  
-
11 
-
1 
TOTALS 3 9 7 4 73 1 3  
1967-68 Season 
December 1 2 6 0 0.00 
January 3 4 1 0  2 0.67 
February - 6 - 8 - 22 -- 3 -- 0. SO 
TOTALS 10 14 3 8 5 0.50 


Crab sport fisheries in Humboldt Bay and Cresent City Harbor, California

http://aquaticcommons.org/50/1/Marine_Resources_Administrative_Report_No%5B1%5D._78-12.pdf

Crab sport fisheries in Humboldt Bay and Cresent City Harbor, California

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Aquatic Commons