Recreational crabbers in Everett will have to wait while much of Puget Sound reopens for winter Dungeness crab fishing on Thursday, Oct. 1.

Marine Area 8-2, covering Port Gardner and Port Susan, will not immediately reopen for the winter season. Too many crabs in those waters are still soft-shelled, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced Wednesday, Sept. 30. Soft-shelled crabs are molting, shedding their old shell to grow a larger one. The agency requires crabbers to release them.

The closure means Everett-area anglers cannot drop pots off the Port Gardner waterfront even as crabbers in the San Juan Islands, Admiralty Inlet and several other marine areas start hauling traps Oct. 1.

WDFW's seasons page for Area 8-2 states a winter season announcement is expected in early October. No specific reopening date has been confirmed.

Seven marine areas will reopen Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, as first reported by the Lynnwood Times. They include Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait), Marine Area 7 North and South (San Juan Islands), Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and the portion of Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) north of Ayock Point.

Port Gardner isn't the only area left out. Marine Areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island) remain closed because the summer catch consumed most of the quota. Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound) and southern Hood Canal stay shut due to poor crab abundance.

"Catch record card data from this past summer season plays a critical role in determining both the areas and duration of winter crabbing seasons," Katelyn Bosley, WDFW crustacean program leader, said in the Sept. 30 announcement.

That catch data matters. Over the past two years, only 43% of summer crab catch-record-card holders reported their Dungeness harvest, according to a WDFW news release published Sept. 4. Don Velasquez, a WDFW crustacean biologist, said in that release that fishery managers have seen decreases in reporting returns in recent years.

Crabbers who did not submit their summer catch record cards by Oct. 1 face a $10 penalty when purchasing a 2027 Puget Sound crab endorsement.

For areas that are open, the daily limit is five male Dungeness crabs in hard-shell condition, with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. Crabbers may also keep six red rock crabs per day (minimum 5-inch carapace) and six Tanner crabs per day (minimum 4½-inch carapace).

Traps may be set or pulled only from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. A Washington fishing license and Puget Sound Dungeness crab endorsement are required for anyone 16 or older.

Winter catch record cards are free with a crab endorsement and valid through Dec. 31. Reports are due to WDFW by Feb. 1, 2027.