Oregon Tests Rope-Free Crab Traps to Save Whales

At least four humpback whales got tangled in crab fishing gear off Oregon's coast in 2025 alone, the highest number ever recorded in a single year. But a technology already working in California could change that starting next spring.

Oregon just approved testing rope-free crabbing equipment that keeps whales swimming safely past fishing zones. Traditional crab traps use vertical ropes stretching from the ocean floor to surface buoys, creating an underwater obstacle course that snares whales during feeding season.

The new pop-up gear stores the rope and buoy right on the seafloor with the trap. Fishermen trigger a remote release that makes the line uncoil and the buoy surface only when it's time to collect the catch, leaving clear water the rest of the time.

Fishing gear entanglement kills more whales off the West Coast than any other threat. At least 400 whales have been caught in fishing lines between Washington, California, and Oregon since 2015.

Humpback whales face the highest risk because they feed in the same coastal waters where crabbers work. Ocean warming has pushed their feeding grounds even closer to shore, right where commercial traps sit waiting.

California fishermen already proved the technology works. Brand Little, a San Francisco commercial fisherman, admitted he set out to prove pop-up gear wouldn't work in 2023.

"We went out to prove it wouldn't work, and it did work," Little said. "So we're like, 'Well, what the hell?' And it's just kind of been a snowball since then."

The units cost about $1,000 each, but fishermen don't need one for every trap. Little uses a technique called long-lining, placing two pop-up units on both sides of 25 connected traps.

His investment of $30,000 paid for itself within weeks. Now California allows pop-up gear during times when whale risk would otherwise close the season completely.

Stephen Melz, another California fisherman using the technology, said it gives crews an alternative when whales move close to shore. "If given the option to fish or not fish, I think they're going to want to fish," he explained.

The Ripple Effect

Oregon's humpback whale populations include two groups with different breeding grounds. The Mexico breeders are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while the Central America population carries endangered status.

Saving these whales protects more than individual animals. Humpbacks play crucial roles in ocean ecosystems, bringing nutrients from deep waters to the surface and supporting the entire food web.

The technology also protects fishing communities. When whales die in their gear, fishermen face potential closures that cost them their livelihoods during peak season.

Oregon fishermen can apply for experimental permits starting spring 2027. If the tests succeed, wider authorization could follow, creating safer oceans for both whales and the people who depend on healthy fisheries.