The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday that waters reopening at 8 a.m. are 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), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 12 (Hood Canal) and 13 (South Puget Sound).

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

In each area, crabbing will be allowed seven days a week through Dec. 31.
Also not reopening is Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area). Crabbing there and area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) reached the annual quota in those areas during the summer fishery.

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.

The exception to Friday’s opener is Marine Area 7, where fishing opens July 15 in the area’s southern portion (San Juan Islands/Bellingham) and Aug. 15 in the northern portion (Gulf of Georgia).

Under new rules adopted earlier this year by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, all Puget Sound areas will be open for crabbing Thursdays through Mondays.

Mike Cenci, the department’s deputy chief of enforcement, said crabbers should review the rules of the fishery before heading out on the water. Information on the rules, including how to properly record and report catch information is available by clicking here.

Most marine areas will close the evening of Sept. 5 for a catch assessment. However, Marine Area 7 will remain open through Sept. 30.

At 8 a.m. Nov. 15, marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 12 (Hood Canal) will reopen for sport crabbing seven days a week through Jan. 2.

Crab fishing also will remain open seven days a week through Jan. 2 in marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), and 13 (south Puget Sound), where the fishery has continued uninterrupted since June 18.

Because the summer catch reached or exceeded the annual quotas, sport crabbing will not reopen this year in marine areas 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) and 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island).

All crab caught in the Puget Sound after Sept. 1 should be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid until Jan. 2. Those catch reports are due to the department by Feb. 1. For more information on catch record cards, visit the agency’s website.

“It’s important that people submit their reports, even if they didn’t catch any crab,” Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator, said in a prepared statement. “A report showing no crab caught is just as important in calculating the catch as one that shows lots of crab caught.”

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6π 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 by clicking here.