Get ready to fish for shrimp, crab

This year’s recreational shrimp fishery in Puget Sound will open May 2 under seasons announced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This year’s recreational shrimp fishery in Puget Sound will open May 2 under seasons announced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Shrimp

Marine Areas 4 (east of the Bonilla Line), 5, 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) and 13 will open May 2 at 7 a.m. and will be open daily until the quota is reached, or through Sept. 15, whichever comes first.

Marine Area 7 will open May 2 at 7 a.m. and will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only until the quota is reached.

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Marine Areas 8 and 9 in, and around Whidbey Island, along with Area 10, will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Wednesdays only, starting May 2. They will remain open until quotas for those areas are reached, or until May 31, whichever comes first.

Marine Area 11, extending from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 only.

Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 2, 6, 9 and 13, or until the quota is reached, whichever comes first. Additional dates and times may be announced if sufficient quota remains.

The Discovery Bay Shrimp District in Marine Area 6 near Port Townsend will remain closed to both spot and non-spot shrimp fishing this year.

More information on shrimp seasons and rules is available on the WDFW shellfish hotline at 1-866-880-5431, or online at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shrimpreg.

Crab

The Puget Sound recreational crab season gets under way June 18, although anglers will see later start dates for Hood Canal and the San Juan Islands this year.

The Dungeness crab season in the San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7 South) will start July 15, two weeks later than the traditional opening. The later date will allow more time for the crabs in that area to complete their molt cycle and grow harder shells, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In Hood Canal, the fishery will open in late July to help prevent the harvesting of mating female crabs.

Puget Sound recreational crabbing areas will open at 7 a.m. on the following dates:

June 18: Marine areas 4 (Neah Bay east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (Sekiu) and 13 (south Puget Sound) will be open seven days a week through Jan. 2, 2010.

July 1: Marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 8-1 (Deception Pass to East Point), 8-2 (East Point to Possession Point), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 11 (Tacoma/Vashon) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend, closing the evening of Sept. 7 for a catch assessment. These areas will reopen in the fall if recreational harvest quotas have not been met.

July 15: Marine Area 7 East (Bellingham and Samish bays) and 7 South (San Juan Islands) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend, closing the evening of Sept. 30.

July 29: Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend. The fishery will remain open through Jan. 2, 2010.

Aug. 12: Marine Area 7 North (Lummi Island/Blaine) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend, closing the evening of Sept. 30.

Crabbers are reminded that those who fail to file catch reports for 2009 will face a $10 fine, which will be imposed when they apply for their 2010 fishing license. The fine was approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to increase catch card return rates and gain more accuracy on recreational catch estimates.

Sport crabbers in Puget Sound are required to record their Dungeness crab catch on two separate catch record cards, one for the summer season and one for the fall/winter season. Catch record cards are not required to fish for Dungeness crab in the Columbia River and on the Washington coast (marine areas 1-4).

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6 and one-quarter inches. 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 in WDFW’s Fishing in Washington pamphlet on the website at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm .