Washington Dept. of Fish and WildlifeCommercial regs
Hotline Message
For in-season emergency regulation changes, call the commercial crab hotline at (360) 796-4601 ext. 320
Fishery Information Current Season
* Landings for the Current Season
* 2008-2009 Commercial Crab Quick Reporting Form (PDF)
* Non-commercial and Limited Commercial Zones
* 2008 WDFW Letter to Commercial Fisherman
* Online derelict fishing gear reporting now available
General Information
* History of the Fishery
* Historic Landings in Puget Sound
* Puget Sound Crab Association
* Crab tagging research project
* Commercial Fishing Picture Gallery
* Vessel Traffic - Tug and Log Tow Routes
Rules and Regulations
* WAC 220-22-400 Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch reporting Areas, Puget Sound.
* WAC 220-16-260 Puget Sound Crab Management Regions
* WAC 220-52-040 Commercial crab fishery - Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts.
* WAC 220-52-043 Commercial crab fishery -- Additional gear and license use requirements.
* WAC 220-52-046 Crab fishery -- Seasons and areas.
* WAC 220-20-025 General provisions -- Shellfish.
* WAC 220-52-035 Commercial shellfish pot gear - Escape mechanism required.
* WAC 220-16-440 San Juan Islands Marine Preserve Area.
* WAC 220-69-240 Duties of commercial purchasers and receivers.
* WAC 220-20-080 Direct Retail Sales Endorsement.
Licensing
* Commercial/Special License Fees
* License Applications

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Note: The following regulations are the opening emergency regulations for the 2008-2009 season. In-season emergency regulations will be posted on this site as they occur. You can also call the Commercial Crab Hotline at the number posted to the left of this page for the latest emergency regulations.

Puget Sound is home to two fleets of commercial vessels, Tribal and State. The State commercial crab fleet possesses about 248 licenses. The fishery is currently limited to this number of licenses, however current license holders may transfer an existing license to a new party. Information on Tribal fishing in Puget Sound is available through the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Click on the appropriate link to the left for a summary of historic landings, the current season's landings, permanent crab fishing regulations, descriptions of catch areas, and descriptions of exclusion zones.

Crab Commercial Fishing Regions

Commercial Crab Fishery Information

The State emergency commercial fishery regulations:

WAC 220-52-04000A Commercial crab fishery-Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts. Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-040:

(1) Dungeness crab pots may be deployed between 8:00 a.m. October 1, 2008 and 7:59 a.m. October 3, 2008 in Puget Sound waters from a vessel not designated on a person's Puget Sound crab license, provided that the primary or alternate operator designated on the license is on board the non-designated vessel ("barge" vessel), and provided prior notice has been given as indicated below.

(2) The license owner must leave a telephone message at the LaConner district office, (360) 466-4345, extension 245, with the following information:

  1. Name and license number of license owner.
  2. Name of designated primary operator if different from license owner.
  3. Name of alternate operator if used to deploy pots from a non-designated vessel.
  4. Buoy brand number and number of pots to be deployed from a non-designated vessel.
  5. Name and identification numbers (WN and/or Coast Guard) of the non-designated vessel.

(3) Additional area gear limits. The following Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas are restricted in the number of pots fished, operated, or used by a person or vessel, and it is unlawful for any person to use, maintain, operate, or control pots in excess of the following limits:

  1. 20 pots per vessel in Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25E.
  2. 20 pots per vessel in all waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25A south of a line projected true west from Travis Spit on Miller Peninsula.

(4) Effective 8:00 a.m. October 1, 2008 until further notice, it is unlawful for any person to fish for crabs for commercial purposes with more than 50 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Region 1 (which includes Marine Fish Shellfish Catch Reporting Areas 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A and 22B), and 75 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Region 2 East (which includes Marine Fish Shellfish Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, and 26A-E)
The remaining buoy tags per license per region must be onboard the designated vessel and available for inspection in Crab Management Area 1 and Crab Management Area 2 East.

WAC 220-52-04600X Puget Sound Crab Fishery--Seasons and Areas. Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-046, effective 8:00 a.m. October 1, 2008 until further notice:

(1) It is permissible to fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following areas:

  1. Port Gardner: That portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 26A east of a line projected from the outermost tip of the ferry dock at Mukilteo. projected to the green #3 buoy at the mouth of the Snohomish River, and west of a line projected from that #3 buoy southward to the oil boom pier on the shoreline.
  2. Possession Point to Glendale: That portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 26A east of a line that extends true north from the green #1 buoy at Possession Point to Possession Point, and west of a line from the green #1 buoy at Possession Point extending northward along the 200-foot depth contour to the Glendale dock.
  3. Langley: That portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 24C shoreward of the 400-foot depth contour within an area described by two lines projected northeasterly from Sandy Point and the entrance to the marina at Langley.

(2) The following areas are closed to commercial crab fishing:

  1. That portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 25A west of the 123o 7.0' longitude line projected from the new Dungeness light due south to the shore of Dungeness Bay.
  2. That portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 23D west of a line from the eastern tip of Ediz Hook to the ITT Rayonier Dock.

WAC 220-69-24000N Duties of commercial purchasers and receivers.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-69-240, effective October 1, 2008, until further notice, it is unlawful for any wholesale dealer acting in the capacity of an original receiver of Dungeness crab taken by non-treaty fishers from Puget Sound, to fail to report to the department the previous day's purchases by 10:00 a.m. the following business day. Reports must be made to the Point Whitney Shellfish Laboratory by fax at 360-586-8408 or by phone at 1-866-859-8439, option 5, and must specify the dealer name, dealer phone number, date of delivery of crab to the original receiver, and the total number of pounds of crab caught by non-treaty fishers, by Crab Management Region or by Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area.

Coastal Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery

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