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MD crabbing regulations for 2012

Good Information 
8K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  crabby and son 
#1 ·
#8 ·
Me too! Im plan to start this year at 5am and looking forward to catching plenty of female peelers to sluff out.
 
#10 ·
OK just because I like to be a pain in the A..

Under float requirements they refer to round or spherical shapes must be 12" in diameter. Understood

If not round or spherical they must be 12" Long x 10" Wide. Understood.

What shape is an antifreeze bottle or a Tide bottle? It aint round and it ain't a sphere, I'd say rectangular of some type. Agreed?

OK under that scenario I am legal to use a 12"x10" flat piece of brown plywood but illegal to use a yellow antifreeze container or bright orange Tide Bottle? Even a round piece of plywood could be 12" in diameter and still be legal without being a sphere.

One day they'll figure it out, one day........

Chris
 
#12 ·
Like I said Jerry, just because I like to be a pain.

Chris
 
#14 ·
I still have a question....shoot me, I'm slow okay :)

I read both Crabby's and Rj's links, and DNR is getting better wording the regs, but:

And this is from Gary's link simply b/c it's more concise:

Right off the bat is states:

FEMALE HARVEST IS PROHIBITED

And then later on it specifically states that peelers and hard crabs are 'male' which then follows this statement:

The minimum size for soft crab is 3 1/2 inches during the entire season.

Can that be female soft crabs? That would conflict w/the original statement at the top of the page, as I see it. The other two crab types SPECIFICALLY state they are MALE....this makes no distinction.

Then in Rj's link where it had a pic of a mature vs immature female crab, it stated that mature females could be taken (not that I take females...I'm just looking for clarification).

What's everyone's take on this. I've been keeping the female soft crabs and would like to continue....is it legal (assuming they are legal size)?
Thanks,

Joe
 
#15 ·
You can keep 2 dozen female soft crabs over 3 1/2". You can not keep a female peeler or female hard crab. You can keep 2 dozen male peelers which have to be 3 1/4" from April 1 to July 14 and 3 1/2" after July 14. You can only keep 2 dozen total which includes a combo of softies or peelers. You can use female peelers for bait but must have a receipt that they were purchased from a commercial and not caught by you. Hope this helps............Gary
 
#17 ·
Hey Gary. Here's one for ya:D:

I'm crabbing 1200ft w/ an LCC and grab a doz FM peelers to be used for HH fishing that evening. Run past the 3pm comm time clock so keep crabbing non-comm but have the peelers on board from when it was legal time. At 2:59pm do I write myself a receipt?:hysterical::D
 
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