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The already-shortened 2023–2024 Dungeness crab season in the San Francisco Bay Area and central California will come to an end early, in slightly more than a week.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials on Thursday ordered an April 8 close to the commercial season to minimize the risk of humpback whales becoming entangled in fishing gear as they return to forage off the California coast.

The decision was made after consultation with representatives of the fishing industry, environmental organizations and scientists.

The order applies to what the state calls Zones 3, 4 and 5, from the Sonoma/Mendocino county border south to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County.

The season started late this year—Jan. 18, with a 50% trap reduction—after a series of delays. The 2022–2023 season ended April 15, 2023, and the season before ended on April 8, 2022.