According to Rich Childers, a state Fish and Wildlife shellfish policy coordinator, all areas in Puget Sound are looking really good for crab this year. He added that the treaty commercial fisheries in the spring showed really good catch rates. Test fisheries conducted by (state Fish and Wildlife) in the northern two-thirds of Hood Canal also showed surprisingly good catch rates up by the (Hood Canal) bridge and the Quilcene area.
At first the opening areas would be the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca (Marine Catch Area 6); Deception Pass to East Point (8-1); East Point to Possession Point (8-2); northern Puget Sound-Admiralty Inlet (9); Central Puget Sound (10); south central Puget Sound (11); and Hood Canal (12).
Tony Floor, director of fishing affairs for the Northwest Marine Trade Association, said that there seems to be a good abundance of crab in the 6 ½- to 7-inch range. There was also a big number of people out on the Nisqually area who were doing really well, says Floor.
The daily limit is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6 ¼ inches. Anglers may catch six red rock crab of either sex daily, provided those measure at least 5 inches across. Crabbers are reminded it is now mandatory to file catch reports or a $10 fine will be imposed when anglers apply for their 2011 fishing license.
