WDFW to host Nov. 18 public meeting on proposal to change non-reporting penalty fee for Puget Sound Dungeness crab catch record cards

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is hosting a virtual public meeting on Nov. 18 to discuss a proposed change to non-reporting penalty fee for Puget Sound Dungeness paper or electronic crab catch record cards (CRC/eCRC). The CRC/eCRC is the primary means of harvest assessment for the Puget Sound recreational Dungeness crab fishery, however, only a portion of the license holders annually return their CRC/eCRCs to WDFW. “WDFW fishery managers are seeing consistent declines in crab CRC returns in recent years,” said Aaron Dufault, Puget Sound Shellfish Division Manag…