General Regulations
OH
NOOO! This is arguably the most boring section of this site, and
if you plan to go crabbing, you better remember most of this stuff,
and obey them. Of course, you won't get punished for violating
the regulations if you don't get caught. If you choose to catch
crabs the illegal way, there is no point to reading this section,
but be warned: Fishing inspectors are always
near. You usually won't see them, but keep a careful lookout,
because when you are doing your best to violate all the regulations
and not paying attention to your surroundings, a voice will suddenly
come from behind you, saying in a polite tone, "May I see
you fishing license
please?" You are really screwed at that point.
The lesson: Don't try the illegal way
because fishing inspectors appear when you don't expect them to
and seemingly out of nowhere. Believe me, it
is very likely that you will get caught.
There are many fishing regulations. I am just going to list
the ones that apply to catching the Dungeness crab and red rock
crab, the two species of crab you would want. For a more comprehensive
listing, visit the
DFO Pacific's regulations page and/or the
DFO's page on crabbing. The regulations are split into the
following sections:
Illegal Things
Size and Limits of Crabs
Gears Regulations
Transporting Someone Else's Catch
Consuming Your Catch
Packaging Your Catch
Penalties
Other Things
Illegal Things
These are the most straight forward regulations. You should never do these things if possible. Here are the rules.
It
is illegal for you to:
-sport fish without a license
-possess, except at ordinary residence (where you usually live), fish/shellfish(crabs included) packaged in a way so that the fish/shellfish cannot be easily identified or measured
-engage in field canning (putting into can) of any species of fish/shellfish
-buy, barter (trade), sell, or attempt to buy, barter, sell fish/shellfish caught by sport fishing
-molest, injure, or kill fish/shellfish using stones, clubs, firearms, explosives, or chemicals
-use spears or other sharp, piercing instruments to fish for shellfish
-tend another sport fisher's gear without your own license
Size and Limits of Crabs
Here are regulations that are more tricky. These regulations apply
to what size of crabs you can take and how many you can keep.
The limits for the two species of crab you want to catch, the
Dungeness and red rock, are listed in the table below:
Species | Minimum Procession Size | Daily Limit | Season Open |
Dungeness | 165mm |
4/person |
All
Year |
Red Rock | 115mm |
4/person |
All
Year |
Table
Explanation:
Minimum Possession Size: You
can only keep crabs that are over this size in carapace width.
Carapace width is measured as a horizontal line between the widest
part of the carapace. It is illegal to keep undersized crabs.
Undersized crabs must be returned to the water immediately. The
limits are set at that width for both species because crabs over
that size are sexually mature and have at least mated once. This
is to insure that there is enough crabs left over to support fishing.
Daily Limit: The maximum number of crabs you can catch
and keep in a day.
Warning: A special rule applies
to the daily limit in Fishing Areas 28 and 29 (The Lower Mainland).
The rule states that the daily limit of Dungeness crabs and red
rock crabs are aggregated (combined). This means that you can
keep a maximum of 4 crabs a day (crabs can be Dungeness or red
rock), not 4 crabs per species for a total of 8 crabs. This is
perhaps the trickiest rule there is for fishing regulations. The
reason behind this is probably to conserve crabs, and to make
more money off crabbers by giving them fines for keeping too many.
Season Open: Period
of time during a year you can catch these crabs.
One more thing to remember: the possession
of female crabs is prohibited. This is implemented
to protect the crab populations. Click here
to find out how to distinguish between male and female crabs.
As the regulations tend to change quickly due to population conditions,
you should visit the
DFO's limit list for the most up to date regulations. Make
you check out DFO's site before you go on your trip!
Gear Regulations
There is a set of regulations for crabbing gears too. I'll list all these complicated items. Hope all these info haven't made your brain lag yet. There is more to come.
-A person with a valid fishing license may deploy up to two traps.
-All
recreational traps or rings must be marked with the name of the
person fishing the the gear, ie: the operator (the name must be
printed in solid black, capital letters, at least 75 mm high).
-If fishing from a dock or from shore, attach a tag marked with
the operator's name to the line that has the trap or ring attached
to its other end.
-If you are not fishing from a dock or from the shore, the operator's
name must be marked on or securely affixed to a float or buoy
that is on the surface of the water and has a line attaching it
to the trap or ring. Only one name can appear on the float or
buoy. It is recommended you include your telephone number.
-Floats used to mark crab gear must remain floating on the surface
of the water and be adequately visible so as to pose no navigational
hazard. Use non-floating line, or attach a weight to the line,
as floating lines create navigational hazards. Household plastic
jugs, bottles and styrofoam chunks tend to deteriorate and sink
and are not recommended as floats.
-If only two crab traps are attached to one ground-line, you may
mark the ground-line with only one buoy. All single traps must
be marked with a buoy.
-It is illegal to use more than two rings, dip nets or traps or
a combination of these to fish for crabs.
-It is illegal to use a jig, gaff, spear, rake or any other sharp-pointed
instrument to take crabs.
-Do not set gear in navigation channels.
-Mechanical devices may be used to recover traps.
-The carapace (shell) must remain attached to the crab until it
is consumed or it arrives at your ordinary residence.
You can also
visit DFO's
web page on this subject.
Transporting Someone Else's Catch
If you encounter a situation where you have to transport someone else's catch caught by sport fishing, you will need a letter from that someone with the following in the letter in order to legally transport that catch:
-the fisherman's name (who caught the catch)
-his/her telephone number
-his/her complete address
-his/her fishing license number
-when and where the catch was made
-the number, species, and size of the catch
-name of recipient (person transporting the catch)
-address of recipient
-date of receipt (when the catch was received by the recipient)
-reason for transport
You can also visit the DFO's web page on this subject.Consuming Your Catch
Lucky for
you, this is a simple rule. Any fish/shellfish you cook or prepare
outside of your ordinary residence is considered part of your
possession limit. Of course, the fish/shellfish doesn't count
after it has been eaten.
Also visit the
DFO's web page on this subject.
Packaging Your Catch
In most cases, there is no need for crabbers to package their catch. If you really need to package the crabs, you will need to follow the guidelines set by the DFO. You can see them on DFO Pacific's packaging guidelines. The important points of the guidelines are that you can't package your catch in such a way that the species, number and size of the catch can't be easily determined.
Penalties
If you get caught by a fishing inspector for violating any regulations I have listed, you may get voluntary ticket fines of up to $1,000, or court-imposed fines up to $100,000. You also may have your gear seized and your license suspended or cancelled. If it is your first time crabbing and you forgot to do something necessary and got caught, the fishing inspectors usually let you off the first time. Fishing inspectors are mostly nice people. You can also view the penalties on the DFO web page. It is at the bottom of the page.
Other Things
Remember
everything I listed above and obey the regulations if you plan
to go crabbing. I know it's a lot of things to remember. I didn't
remember everything when I went crabbing. Most of the regulations
are not terribly confusing and just use your common sense. A lot
of the things that are listed as illegal are things most people
won't do.
Here is another reminder for you. Before you go crabbing, visit
the DFO website and look for recreational fishery notices,
especially for notices reporting closures to certain areas. This
saves you an unnecessary drive to the place and find out there
that you can't catch crabs at that place.
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