SONOMA COUNTY (BCN) — More of the Sonoma Coast will open to commercial Dungeness crab fishing Saturday and Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said today.
The area between Salt Point in Sonoma County north to the Sonoma and Mendocino county line near Gualala will open Saturday, and the area between the Sonoma and Mendocino county line north to Point Arena in Mendocino County will open Monday, the CDFW said.
The Dungeness crab fishery in Humboldt County between Humboldt Bay south to near Shelter Cove in Humboldt County also will open on Monday.
The coastal areas were previously closed because of the presence of domoic acid levels in crab. Low levels of the acid can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness in humans, and persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and sometimes death at higher levels.
The recreational Dungeness crab season opened Nov. 5 with a warning to avoid consuming the viscera of Dungeness crab caught between Point Arena in Mendocino County and Shelter Cove in Humboldt County.