https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-releas...-marine-areas-1
I think this is a first? Cut days in marine areas. Now offer more opportunity? WTF? Either open it, or close it/keep it closed. Makes it sound like we're getting a gift? Seasons have been set for years now offering some sort of consistancy. I guess not any more?

You're fishing to a number. The management intent is to hit that number. As long as you chase a number there will be reductions and additions. If you prefer a totally fixed schedule then it will be designed to catch less than the target in case catches are underestimated in planning;.

I'm not a numbers guy. I'm an opportunity guy. And crab seasons are not salmon seasons. They can be set based on test fisheries on the front end, knowing what is, or not available. Thought they had that figured out? WDFW and the tribes have always known PS crab populations in all the MA through test fisheries. In recent past, seasons have been consistant on the front end, letting folks plan there summer. They know what's available! What changed? With crab, it should be yes or no, from this date to this date, based on the population in a given MA? I don't get it! And like to bitch!

Crab, like salmon, are managed to a number. Allocation. If the catch did not have to be shared numerically then you could simply open a reasonable season.

The test fishery still gives you an estimated number and it is split. That is reasonably the same as the forecasts that are used for salmon.

While I was never involved in crab management I played around salmon a lot, including weekly updates of the runs. I never saw a run that stayed at the same number through the season; it always fluctuated some. Or occasionally a lot. Our goal, then, was to achieve the escapement goal. Numbers change and you adjust the fishery. If catches changed, you adjusted the fishery.

Fishing to numbers does require managers to either regularly adjust fisheries or simply schedule a conservative season with buffers and leave the buffer uncaught.

Cutting days in a particular MA is a matter of either not enough crab to warrant an opening at all or to stay within the State's share of the pre-determined agreed upon (with the tribes) harvestable poundage. That State share can also be reduced if the State crabbers exceeded the State's share in a prior year.

As to the managers opening recreational crabbing on 27/28 August (Tues/Wed) I see that as an attempt to mollify recreational crabbers particularly in Areas 2E and 2W where NT commercial harvest has over the last few years been taking an increasing percentage of the State's share. I believe that in the 2023/24 season NT crabbers took more than 50% of the State's share in both of those MAs.

What I find interesting is that this trend has been noticed and commented upon by the crab management folks for several years without action presumably because the formal crab management policy stipulates the summer rec season be opened Thursday-Monday.

So my question for them is if they can step outside the Policy for these two days why not make the season 7 days a week in those two MAs and/or begin the winter season the first day after the end of the summer season.

I will end by recalling that the NT commercial season in those areas was essentially to be a clean-up with emphasis to be recreational community given the proximity of high recreational demand by nearby population centers.