Conditions described here were accurate only as of the date shown and may have changed. This is not a substitute for current official information from the agency with jurisdiction. See the full notice. Full notice.
Deception Pass, Skagit Bay and Port Susan Open for Winter Crabbing
Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2 open October 10 after the crabs hardened. Seattle and Tacoma are still undecided.
Recreational crabbing opens Saturday, October 10, in Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay) and Marine Area 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), seven days a week through December 31, Washington Fish and Wildlife says. The two areas were held back from the October 1 opener until sampling, finished October 2, showed enough legal-size males had moved from softshell to hardshell.
Limits are the same across Puget Sound: five male Dungeness a day, plus six red rock and six Tanner crab. Record every Dungeness on the winter catch record card.
Marine Areas 10 (Seattle-Bremerton) and 11 (Tacoma-Vashon) are still waiting on final summer catch estimates before the department decides on any winter season. Hood Canal south of Ayock Point and South Puget Sound (Marine Area 13) stay closed for the rest of 2026.
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