Much crabbing closed, but not all

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Plans for a crab-fishing derby in Port Angeles Harbor as part of next weekend's Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival had to be scrapped because state fishery officials have declared this year's recreational crabbing season over in the Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Instead, resourceful festival promoters will stage a "grab a crab" derby with participants snaring crab from holding tanks on the pier.

For those interested in catching crab the traditional way, using pots lined with bait, all is not lost.

A stretch of the Western Strait and an area south of the Tacoma Narrows remain open for sport crabbing, although all other areas of Puget Sound are closed until next year because seasonal catch quotas have been met. Crabbing is allowed year-round, however, on the Washington coast and the Columbia River estuary, with a few restrictions.

For the most current information on recreational crabbing seasons, call the state's shellfish rule-change hotline at 866-880-5431.

Sport crabbers who wish to catch Dungeness in state waters must purchase one of three fishing licenses. The fees for state residents are $8.57 for a two-day combination fishing license, $10.95 for an annual shellfish license, and $41.61 for an annual combination fishing license.

An additional $3 annual endorsement is required for catching crab in Puget Sound.

Licensing locations may be found on the Web at wdfw.wa.gov/lic/vendors/vendors.htm. Licenses also can be purchased online at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov or by phone at 866-246-9453.

Those who catch crab must maintain a catch card, which is turned into the state at the end of the year. Only male Dungeness can be kept, and they must be a certain size.

For more details on recreational crabbing, refer to page 130 of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's sport fishing rules 2004-05 pamphlet, "Fishing in Washington."

— Stuart Eskenazi

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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