Living Vancouver Canada: Fishing for Dungeness Crab at Jericho Beach

Fishing for Dungeness Crab at Jericho Pier

Fishing for Dungeness Crab at Jericho Beach Pier - Vancouver

Fishing for Dungeness Crab at Jericho Pier

Harvesting crab is a very popular activity at the Pier in Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver. We found these interesting facts about Dungeness Crab.

"Fishing for Dungeness Crab also called Harvesting Crab Dungeness Crab (Cancer Magister) are the most important crab species of British Columbia. This crab is one of the 35 true crabs living in Canada's Pacific waters. Its common name, Dungeness, was inspired by the name of a fishing port near Puget Sound, Washington."

"Dungeness crabs grow by moulting, a process whereby the old shell is shed. The new shell

underneath absorbs water and swells to a new size 15-30% larger, and then hardens over a period of several months. Dungeness crabs live about six to nine years. Males generally do not grow larger than 215 mm, and females 165 mm carapace width."

"Crabs must be measured immediately and undersized crabs released immediately.

Dungeness crab must be at least 165 mm in width."

"Dungeness crab have an oval-shaped carapace that is yellow-brown to purplish. They have four pairs of walking legs and a pair of claws. The claws have light-coloured tips, sharp serated teeth and a pronounced hook at the tips, distinguishing it from similar species. Dungeness crab can weigh up to two kilograms and have a shell diameter exceeding 200 millimetres, but crabs of this size are uncommon because of the intensity with which they are fished."

"The Dungeness crab is distributed along the west coast from Mexico to Alaska. It inhabits waters up to depths of about 180 metres. Although these crabs can sometimes be spotted on mud and gravel, they prefer sandy bottoms and shallow cool waters around eelgrass."

"Predators of the Dungeness crab include octopus, halibut, dogfish, sculpin, birds and other crabs. Crabs are most vulnerable immediately after they've moulted when their bodies are soft and lack the protection of a hard shell."

Harvesting the Dungeness crab

"Dungeness crabs are an important part of the diet of coastal Aboriginal peoples. There are also healthy commercial and recreational Dungeness crab industries. The crabs are captured through trap fishery: traps are baited and left either individually or together on a line over night or for several days."

"In Canada, Dungeness crabs are fished year round, although the period from May to October tends to be the most fruitful for fishermen. Fisheries and Oceans Canada regulates the Dungeness crab fishery primarily through minimum catch size limitations-a way to protect male crabs until they become sexually mature, giving them the chance to spawn at least once before they are harvested. The department also restricts the harvesting of female crabs, closes fishing seasons to protect soft shell crabs when necessary, limits the number of fishing licenses, and regulates gear."

Sources of the above facts and More interesting information can be found at Fisheries and Oceans Canada website: