Northwest Dive Club

Hey guys

I heard some people say you are not supposed to go crabbing at night and I was wondering if that was true. I tried looking it up WA department of fish & wildlife but I couldn't find the answer. I checked out their FAQ page too but it just says crabbing is allowed thursdays through mondays each week.

With so many divers these days, I can never catch my limit. By the time I find a right sized one, they are mostly soft shell. I usually take home about 2-3. I was thinking there will be less competition after sunset but I don't want to do that if it's against the rule.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It is legal to hand harvest crab after dark. You could start at 12:01am on an open day and stop at 11:59pm if you wanted to.

It is not legal to set or pull crab pots between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise. The pots can stay in the water overnight but you can't touch them. The night must be a night between 2 open days, pots must be removed on closed days so in Area 10 you would need to have the pot out of the water by 1 hour after sunset on Monday.

Page 133 of the current 2014 rules is pretty clear to me.

Thanks!

I just realized, however, that most local and state parks close at dusk anyway. Mukilteo closes at 10pm.