The Puyallup Tribe just issued there notification for starting the season. From what came out last year, the state over did there numbers by around 16000 lbs, while the tribe came up short. I have a feeling the tribe may have taken more late in the year, but I am unsure. At one point it was around 56000 lbs for the state and 37,000 for the tribe.

Well this year the tribe is going in fairly early and has a projection of 90,000 lbs, over twice the allocation for last year. It will be interesting to see what the state does. In the past, they have not gotten any payback when the Recs came up short or when the tribe went heavy. Hopefully it just means they believe there is a huge increase in numbers. If not, I doubt there will be anything left once our season starts.

It's been a few years since I did any crabbing in MA 10,11, or 13. When numbers dropped and seasons ceased, I headed north and never came back. Doesn't WDFW and the tribes test fish before setting seasons? How do we find out those results? I thought the molt period was now through June/July? That's why rec. openers aren't until then. Maybe numbers are increasing again? That would be good news and spread out effort again, and maybe get me to stay local if their are any crab left.

I sent out an email and got back a response later in the day yesterday. I was surprised they got back so quick, which I have to give them credit for. In a quick synopsis, the test numbers showed twice as many crabs per trap on average. The state is reducing their number by the overage last year. With the higher averages, it is likely that the recs can catch there share quicker, so the season will stay the same. This will hopefully leave some left over for a possible