05/11/2006: "State Allows Additional Days Of Crabbing"

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided recreational crabbers will get more days to fish during the week of July Fourth

By the commission's action, crab fishing in six marine areas will get under way Saturday, July 1 and remain open through Saturday, July 8, rather than closing July 2-4 as originally scheduled.

Waters affected by that action include marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) and 7 South (San Juan Islands). Those areas will then be open Wednesdays through Saturdays and the Labor Day weekend, with the possibility of additional fishing time in fall and winter.

"Commissioners heard from a lot of crab fishers that they want to be able to fish those days leading up to and including the Fourth of July," said Ron Ozment, commission chair. "We agreed that made sense in most areas, so long as everyone understands that it could reduce crabbing opportunities later in the year."
The upcoming season will be the second year under new fishing rules established by the commission, a nine-member panel of citizens appointed by the Governor that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Those new rules, which reduced the daily catch limit from six to five crab and limited fishing days in high-catch areas, were designed to extend the length of the fishing season into the fall and winter months, said Rich Childers, WDFW crab-policy manager for Puget Sound.