Limit on Number of Crab Traps to Fish

July 5, 2012

Question: Is there a limit to the number of crab traps a person can fish from a private boat? Is it unlimited? (Craig B.)

Answer: When fishing from a private boat, there are no limits on the numbers of traps a person can fish. Keep in mind though that you will also have to be able to manage and service each trap you deploy. And if fishing for Dungeness crabs, each person may only keep 10 crabs. On a good day you might get that many crabs in one trap. You’d still need to check all of the other traps regularly.