Dungeness Crab
Metacarcinus magister
Photo: Dan Boone · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Keep or release?
Where are you fishing?
Size limits, seasons and female rules are set by each state. Pick yours to get a verdict.
TIDE covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland rules, plus federal protections everywhere.
Verifying against GBIF…
Conservation status
IUCN Red ListNot evaluated globally. The US West Coast fishery is considered one of the better-managed shellfish fisheries in the world.
What Not Evaluated means
No global Red List assessment exists. Regional stock assessments are the better guide for this species.
On your plate
Common Seafood
A strong choice. The fishery keeps only mature males, leaving females and juveniles to reproduce.
Regional fishing status
Managed by the '3-S' rule — sex, size and season. Season openings are now routinely delayed to reduce whale entanglement risk.
If you buy it
- US and Canadian Dungeness is well managed and traceable.
- Season delays exist to protect migrating whales — late openings are a good sign, not a supply problem.
Conservation status and seafood sustainability are two different questions. A species can be Least Concern globally and still be overfished, protected or unsustainable where you are.
Habitat
Sandy and muddy bottoms, eelgrass beds and estuaries
Range
Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to central California
Size
Up to 25 cm across the shell
Diet
Clams, small crustaceans and fish
Lifespan
8–13 years
Group
crustacean
Only mature males above a size limit may be landed, so the breeding population is protected by design.
West Coast seasons are now delayed when whales are still migrating through the fishing grounds, to cut entanglement in vertical trap lines.
Domoic acid blooms — a climate-linked toxin — can postpone openings for months.
Cook this species