Saltwater · Northern
Crab - Dungeness
Ocean regulations can change in-season. Confirm with the 2026 Ocean Sport Fishing Guide and CDFW before you fish.
Species group
CRAB
Season
November 3, 2018 through June 30, 2019
Season notes
Open all year
Depth limit
No Limit
Daily bag limit
10 Per Person
Minimum size
5 3/4 Inchs measured by the shortest distance through the body from edge of shell to edge of shell directly in front of and ex- cluding the points (lateral spines).
Gear restrictions
- Recreational crabbing is not allowed from vessels licensed for commercial -Dungeness crab fishing - On public piers, no person shall use more than two rods and lines, two hand lines, or two nets, traps or other appliances used to take crabs. - Not more than 60 crab traps are autho- rized to be used to take Dungeness crab from a vessel operating under authority of a Commercial Passenger Fishing Ves- sel License issued - Crab may be brought to the surface of the water for measuring, but no undersize crabs may be placed in any type of receiver, kept on the person or retained in any person’s possession or under his direct control; all crabs shall be measured immedi- ately and any undersize crabs shall be released immediately into the water.
Identification
- The California Department of Public Health has issued a warning not to eat the viscera (internal organs, or "crab butter") of Dungeness Crab from the Bodega Bay or Russian River areas. Dungeness crab in these areas have high levels of domoic acid in the viscera. - Dungeness crabs have a wide, long, hard shell, which they must periodically moult to grow; this process is called ecdysis. They have five pairs of legs, which are similarly armoured, the foremost pair of which ends in claws the crab uses both as defense and to tear apart large food items. The crab uses its smaller appendages to pass the food particles into its mouth. Once inside the crab's stomach, food is further digested by the "gastric mill", a collection of tooth-like structures. M. magister prefers to eat clams, other crustaceans and small fish, but is also an effective scavenger. Dungeness crabs can bury themselves completely in the sand if threatened.