ddeibert

went crabbing out of Everett, and caught 1 legal crab, released 128 small females and 15 large very soft shell legal crab which had to release. Any one ready to complain to WDFW about how we always get to crab after the tribes wipe out all the legal crabs? Why not go first and get our quota for once? OR START OUR SEASON LATTER AND LONGER INTO THE YEAR? The tribes have been exceeding their limit and are supposed to have their quota reduced by that percentage the next year. Anyone ever heard of that happening or what that percentage is each year?

Gmchief Loc: New Hampshire coast

It sounds like the crabs have moved north. I read that the dungeness fishery in Alaska is booming.

DC Loc: Washington state

I agree the week before crab season I was out of Mukilteo and the they had the area I was going to fish for flat fish carpet bombed with crab pots. I don't think they monitor their fishing or crabbing in any meaningful way. I agree they way over fish and crab and then blame it on the sports fishermen or the environment. what happened to the very large chum run we use to have in up the Snohomish river system? they netted off the mouth of the river catching everything and as a result we no longer have a chum run and very little wild Coho or chinook. Still think they should play by the same rules as everyone else and their treaty rights give them the right to fish with out a license but other than that same rules, same season and if we are serious about saving the chinook salmon then no nets in the sound if the tribe wants to use nets in the bay outside the the hatchery ok but not out in the sound at all by anyone at any time.

ddeibert

from what i heard, wdfw can not monitor the tribes catch and must rely on what they report? could be wrong but have never heard a report on what they report. Have never seen a report on what percentage they over harvest or what percentages they are reduced the next year or if it even is reduced.

DC Loc: Washington state

that is my understanding as well. like the fox gardeing the hen house. the bolt decision needs to be revisited as does their sole right to casinos in this state.

Hootervillain Loc: Darrington,Washington

A guy that I know who lives on the Skagit River has video of Tribal members pulling nets. In the video, you can see them throwing the fish that they are keeping into the boat. The fish that they don't keep, (which includes Dolly varden,trout, and salmon they don't want), are either smacked in the head with a club or they ate slashed with a knife and thrown back in the river. So they are killing their by-catch even though the fish are still healthy and could be returned to the water. It seriously pisses me off that they waste like that and take whatever they want to boot. Something needs to be done. I told the guy that he needs to show that video to the game department or TV station, but I don't think anything has happened with it.

ddeibert

If we see it happen we need to report it. If he has video he needs to give it to a reputable news caster and video that

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

Sounds like making excuses. My friends brought me some of the biggest crabs I have seen in the Sound yesterday. I could not go myself due to covid. Their report said crabbing was awesome. They released lots of very big hard males. Like all forms of fishing, crabbing is not going to the crab slot at the supermarket. Last year as in past years, I had no problem getting limits right up into November when the weather went south. I often drove through fields of commercial pots getting to a good location. If you crab like a commercial crabber in commercial crab fields as most sport crabbers do, then expect the leftovers. If you get creative and move to spots not conducive to commercial crabbing, then enjoy your catch. Note: I am not condoning illegal fishing and crabbing by any of the three major harvest groups (Sport, Commercial and Native). But using any of them as an excuse to cover your own inexperience, or lack of skill is a cop out. All three are fishing the same waters and all three are suffering the over all lose of habitat, pollution and poaching, not to mention the unprofessional emphases politically forced on fisheries managers.

DC Loc: Washington state

maybe it depends on the area that you live or can fish. but that begs the question of rules and seasons that favor one group over another and lack of monitoring of each. yes if you have the right size boat and live in the right area one can find spots that are not as heavily over fished but most don't have that advantage which is why those areas exist.

ddeibert

So bapabear, Why do the tribes get to always go out first? I have crabbed for many years and and know how to do it. but when you catch over 200 crab in 4 pots and they are mostly female and under size males that tells my they have over crabbed that area. also having to release so many very white soft shelled males also tells me thatit was fished hard. Port townsend had a good fishery on crab this year and they normally get wiped out prior to us rec crabbers getting to go out. also i was told by the crab biologist that the tribes overharvested. but have you every heard of them getting a reduction the next, or even how much their next years allotment was. They self report and that makes me wonder since i beleive WDFW cant check them like they can us. Might be wrong but dont think so.

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

The answers are not that simple. Why overfishing by the tribe's is not delt with, I can not say. Nor can I say if it is actually true lacking access to reports rather than hearsay. I do know the sport season has been extended the past few years. I can not say if that is to compensate or not. As for the Tribes going first, that is a result of Federal Law. The quota is 50 percent for the tribes, therefore the tribe take must be and is monitored by the buyers to be sure they get their 50 percent of the projected quota or will likely get it the second commercial season. The rest of us then get to get ours. Sure, there is some illegal sales going on, just like there is poaching by recreational crabbers. Keep in mind that those soft shells will be hard shortly and available to you rather than the tribes. Also remember our season is screeched out to allow more weekend crabbing. Over the past few years, our season has also been extended into December. I know the seasons are different in different areas, but each has its advantages and disadvantages. We can't even crab for another month here. Sure we can go south, but those down south can also come north.
In simple terms, the tribal fishing is a direct by product of a federal court decision. Fisheries hands are tied. Like it or not, the tribe's are independent nations with duel citizenship. Any decisions regarding their rights is a federal matter and must be complied with by the states. It is the same reason they have casinos.

As for DC's comments about the right boat, mine is a 17 foot aluminum open Klamath. I do not use it if the wind gusts are predicted to above 13 MPH I am still able to get my crab. There are tons of sand spots out there no bigger than a city house lot. Those do not lend themselves to commercial fishing. There are also sand piles next to and in rocks that the commercial guys deliberately avoid. I found them here near Blaine. I also found them when I lived in Port Townsend, when I camp at Fort Warden, when I go out of Fort Casey, out of Cornet Bay, out of La Connor, out of Anacortes and out of Bellingham. Sometimes pulling and resetting just 40 or 50 yards away can make or break a day. Setting in the right location for the right current. makes a big difference. Crabs are always on the move except in heavy current so constant success requires the same diligence. Note: I never leave my traps down more than 45 minutes (15 minutes for rings when I use them for exploring) regardless of the tide stage I am fishing.

Word of advice. Be ready to hit MOB on your GPS so you can quickly make a waypoint if you catch a sanddab, (my main technique for finding new crabbing ares) not a sole or other type flatfish, just a sanddab. If there are sanddabs there, there is sand rather than mud or rocks. If there is sand, there are crabs.

Final comment: I do not drop pots as a side on the way out to fish. Constant success for that kind of harvest is long gone past. When I crab I commit my time to catching crab. With 4 to 6 pots (2 or 3 people) it is a full time activity. I will admit, it can be cut short on those great days when the first dunk has the pots loaded. That leaves the rest of the day to explore while catching bait for the freezer.

ddeibert

Thanks for the input. I was told by wdfw biologists that they over fished but have not heard what the amount of reduction was last year or this year.

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

I can not help you there. It is tough to get departmental information. It is often not because they are hiding things, but because they just don't know for lack of viable info or incompetent research or loss in the chain of command, or apathy, or doing something that rocks the boat or rocking the boat is a threat to job security or... I believe that is government administrative policy in general. It gets even worse when it comes to tribe vs. state vs. feds vs. public/voter opinion vs. commercial vs. environmental vs... You get the point.

ddeibert

so true