WA Coastal Dungeness Crab Pot Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries
U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of interactions that result in incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category |
II |
Estimated Number of Participants |
204 |
Target Species |
Dungeness crab |
Applicable Take Reduction Plans |
N/A |
Observer Coverage |
None |
Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured |
Gray whale, Eastern North Pacific; Humpback whale, Central America/Southern Mexico-CA/OR/WA1; Humpback whale, Mainland Mexico-CA/OR/WA. |
Basis for Current Classification
The mean annual mortality and serious injury of humpback whales (Central America/Southern Mexico-CA/OR/WA stock) is greater than 1% and less than 50% of the stock’s Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level.
Distribution
Fishing effort takes place in coastal waters off the coast of Washington typically in depths less than 50 fathoms (90 m) ranging from the Columbia River to Cape Flattery near Neah Bay, including the estuaries of the Columbia River, Grays Harbor, and Willapa Bay. The fishery can run from December 1 until September 15 each year, although the duration of each season can vary depending on a number of factors that include crab meat quality and domoic acid, along with other considerations.
Gear Description
The only gear used in this fishery are crab pots, which are a maximum of 13 cubic feet in volume. The cylindrical or rectangular frame is enveloped with either PVC coating welded or galvanized welded mesh. The mesh consists of either low carbon steel wire or stainless steel wire. The mesh size can range from ½” x ½” to 2” x 3”. The trap colors can be metal, white, yellow, blue, gray, red or green. Most of the fishermen use black colored traps. Two or more cylindrical zinc coated weights are used to hold the trap down and in position, preventing it from hitting the bottom upside down. The pots consist of two or more escape rings or ports of at least 4¼ inches inside diameter, located in the upper half of the pot. The pots are set individually and not connected to one another. Each pot is required to have a pot tag and a buoy tag attached. Each pot tag must be permanently marked with the license owner’s name or license number and telephone number. There are requirements that all lines be marked with 12 inches of red no more than one fathom away from the main buoy, and no more than one fathom from the pot.
Management
The coastal crab fishery is a limited entry fishery. Each coastal crab license is assigned a maximum pot limit of either 300 or 500 pots. Logbooks are required and must be received by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) within 10 days following any calendar month in which fishing occurred. A summer management period exists, whereby the number of pots used from May 1 until September 15, are reduced for the 300 (reduced to 200) and 500 (reduced to 330) pot limits respectively. The Grays harbor catch area is the only area which has a strict 200 pot limit, regardless of the number of pots for which a fisherman is licensed. Buoys used to mark pots have to be able to float at least 5 lb.
The buoy brand and color has to be registered together with the license at the WDFW. The length of line used to connect the trap/pot to the buoy can not be longer than what is absolutely necessary to compensate for tides, current and weather.
There is a summer Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which is part of the larger WA Coastal Dungeness Crab FMP, enacted to protect crabs that enter the molt prior to the September 15 season ending date. This summer FMP allows for in-season closures of the fishery if the percentage of early molting crab reaches a certain level.
Historical Information
Original Category (Year added to the LOF) |
III (1996) |
Original Number of Participants |
1,475 |
Basis for Original Classification |
Listed as Category III because there was no observer, logbook, or stranding data available. |
Past Names |
WA Dungeness crab pot/trap (until 2011); WA/OR/CA crab pot (until 2009) |
Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) |
N/A |
Timeline of Changes
2024 |
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2022 |
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2020 |
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2011 |
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Changes on the LOF when the “WA Coastal Dungeness crab pot” fishery was included in the larger “WA Dungeness crab pot” fishery |
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2009 |
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Changes on the LOF when the “WA Dungeness crab pot” fishery was included in the larger “WA/OR/CA crab pot” fishery |
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2007 |
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2005 |
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