Crabbing - good news

[Dan Carney]

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

October 6, 2011
Contact: Steve Burton, (425) 775-1311 ext. 126

Several areas of Puget Sound reopen Oct. 8
for late-season crab fishing

OLYMPIA - Seven marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen for recreational crab fishing Oct. 8, while two others will reopen Nov. 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The openings were approved by fishery managers after summer catch assessments by WDFW indicated more crab are available for harvest, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator for the department.

Waters reopening to sport crabbing Oct. 8 at 8 a.m. include marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), and a portion of Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) north of a line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff.

Marine areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 13 (South Puget Sound) will reopen for sport crabbing at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21.

In each area, crabbing will be allowed seven days a week through Dec. 31.

Sport crabbing will not reopen this year in marine areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area), 12 (Hood Canal) and the portion of marine area 9 south of line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff. The annual quotas in those areas were reached during the summer fishery, said Childers.

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. In addition, fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across. Additional information is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/ .

All crab caught in the late-season fishery should be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid until Dec. 31. Winter cards are available at license vendors across the state. Those catch reports are due to WDFW by Feb. 1, 2012. For more information on catch record cards, visit WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/crc.html .



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[Nelly]

Nice work Dan! You beat me to it!
Crabbing in October! What a cool concept!

[haus_bh]

Maybe this was already answered in the post but if I turned in my catch card, does it cost me anything to get one for this fall season?

[Dan Carney]

The winter catch record card is free, you just have to go down and get one. By accessing the summer catch record cards they were able to determine that there was enough crab left to leave it open in these areas to meet the catch quota. Don't forget to turn in your winter catch record card by the required date or you will still be subject to the extra 10 dollar renewal charge next year.
L8R
Dan