California Dungeness Crab Season to open Nov. 5

According to a press release from the California Department of Fish and Game:
California’s sportsmen and women are preparing their crab pots and hoop nets for the statewide recreational Dungeness crab season opener this Saturday. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds sport crabbers that traps and nets for Dungeness crab may not be set before  12:01 a.m. on Nov. 5.    "Crab populations appear to be robust this year, especially in Central  California, coming off a record harvest during the 2010-11 season,”  said DFG Senior Environmental Scientist Pete Kalvass, who oversees the  Invertebrate Management Project. “This could mean another great season  for recreational crabbers.”

New regulations this year require  hoop netters to raise their nets to the surface to inspect the contents of the net at least every two hours. Any undersize crabs and incidentally caught fish and invertebrates can then be more quickly released. The main purpose of the new regulation is to ensure that each fisherman closely monitors his or her gear and does not allow any equipment to be abandoned in state waters. Trap fishermen should also closely monitor their traps because lost trap gear can continue to fish and adversely impact the fishery by becoming a self-baiting crab killer.

Recreational crabbers may keep up to 10 Dungeness crabs per day, or six crabs if fishing from a party boat south of Mendocino County. Dungeness crab may not be taken within San Francisco or San Pablo bays, which are important crab nursery areas.  The recreational size limit for Dungeness crab is five and three-quarter inches measured across the shell, directly in front of and excluding the lateral spines. Crab taken from party boats must measure at least six inches across. For a measurement diagram, see the DFG  website at: http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=36325

For more information regarding recreational Dungeness Crab Fishing Regulations and other crab species, visit the DFG Marine Region website at: www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/crabs.asp.

Leave a Comment