The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has charged a man for illegally harvesting Dungeness crab in the North Sound of the U.S. state of Washington.
According to a 12 December social media post from the WDFW, an officer from the department saw an individual crabbing from a local pier in the North Sound. The office conducted an inspection and found 27 Dungeness crabs, 22 of which were female and, therefore, unlawful to possess. Another four were undersized.
“None were recorded on a catch record card,” the department noted.
Recreational crabbers operating in the Puget Sound must use a Dungeness crab catch record card to account for all Dungeness crab they catch.
The crabs were returned to the water after officials were able to document the illicit catch.
The state of Washington’s commercial Dungeness crab season is currently closed and has been delayed through at least 30 December. WDFW was forced to push back the season after testing revealed low meat yields that do not meet the state’s minimum meat recovery criteria. The plans to reevaluate after further testing is completed by 22 December.
Commercial Dungeness crab seasons have been pushed back all along the U.S. West Coast.
California has pushed back its season to 2025 due to the presence of humpback whales, which can become entangled in the vertical lines used in crabbing gear. The Oregon Dungeness crab season will see a partial opening on 16 December, but the northern part of the state remains closed in solidarity with the Washington fishery.
