Grab your crabbing gear and get out your Old Bay ready — crab season is officially here.

The recreational crabbing season began Tuesday, which means the Chesapeake Bay will welcome crabbers — with their handlines, crab pots and trotlines — to its waters until the season ends on Dec. 15.

“If you want to bring crabs home and eat them, you’re gonna want a license,” said Mike Luisi, director of Fishing and Boating Services with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Recreational licenses are available for people who want to catch more than a very small number of crabs. The license sales help the DNR measure interest in crabbing, as well as determine how many crabs are being taken from the bay, Luisi said. They also support the DNR’s work and are the legal way to go crabbing.

“If you don’t get a license and you’re caught, you will get a ticket,” he said.

Though small in size, Chesapeake Bay blue crabs have a large impact on the region, both for commercial fisheries and culturally. For many Marylanders, eating crabs is a family affair, and maybe even an art form. The crab population in the bay last year remained below average, though it was above an all-time low reported in 2022, according to state officials.

Whether you’re a seasoned crabber or thinking of trying your hand at it, here are some things to know from the DNR to respectfully and safely go crabbing.

When and where can you catch crabs?

Blue crabs are found all along the Chesapeake Bay – from the top to the bottom of the estuary and along its snaking rivers and tributaries.

In April and October through Dec. 15, people are allowed to catch crabs in rivers, creeks and tributaries a half-hour after sunrise until sunset.

From May through September, people can go crabbing a half-hour before sunrise until sunset, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

In the Chesapeake Bay mainstem — the primary channel of the bay — crabbing is allowed in April and October through Dec. 15 a half-hour after sunrise until 5 p.m., and from May through September, a half-hour before sunrise until 5 p.m.

“Using handlines and dip nets is permitted 24 hours a day, as well as annually registered crab pots on private property,” according to the DNR.

No recreational crabbing is allowed on Wednesday except:

• When using crab pots from private property
• When using handlines or dip nets
• During a week when a state or federal holiday falls on a Wednesday or Thursday

Do you need a license?

No. But there are differences in how many crabs a licensed individual or boat can catch versus an unlicensed person or boat, and what equipment can be used.

Maryland residents can purchase a crabbing license for $5, and a non-resident license is $10, according to the DNR. A resident who has a Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License or a Resident Senior Consolidated Sport Fishing License can purchase a crabbing license for $2.

A Recreational Crabbing Boat License is $15, which comes with a decal that must be attached to the boat.

“When the decal is attached to the boat the individuals on the boat do not need to be licensed to catch crabs,” according to the DNR.

The crabbing licenses are valid for 365 days from the purchase date.

Who needs a recreational crabbing license?

You do not need one if you use:

• Handlines and dip nets, or are under the age of 16 and use collapsible crab traps and net rings, according to the DNR.
• Are assisting an individual who has a crabbing license.

You do need one if you:

• Uses eel pots for bait, seines or trotlines.
• If you are 16 years or older, and use collapsible crab traps and net rings, according to the DNR.

Owners, lessees or tenants of a private shoreline property may use up to two crab pots and can annually register them for free with the DNR, but it is not required. The registration does not count as a recreational crabbing license. The crab pots must be marked with the owner’s name and address, according to the DNR.

How many crabs can you catch per day?

If you do not have a recreational crabber license:

• Two dozen male hard crabs and one dozen male peelers, soft crabs or a combination of both a day, according to the DNR.

If you do have a license:

• One bushel of male hard crabs and two dozen male peelers soft crabs or a combination of both a day.

An unlicensed boat:

• With one unlicensed person can possess two dozen male crabs a day.
• With two or more unlicensed people can possess four dozen male crabs a day
• With one or more people who are licensed and any number of unlicensed people can possess one bushel or six dozen male crabs if using a container other than a bushel basket from April 1 to June 30, according to the DNR.

A licensed boat:

• One bushel and six dozen if using a container other than a bushel basket from April 1 to June 30.

What are the size limits for legal harvest?

The minimum size limits are measured across a crab’s shell from tip to tip of its spikes. The size requirement helps “protect blue crab populations and supports sustainable crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay,” according to the DNR.

Male hard crab:

• April 1 to July 14: 5 inches.
• July 15 to Dec. 15: 5.25 inches.

Male peeler crab:

• April 1 to July 14: 3.25 inches.
• July 15 to Dec. 15: 3.5 inches.

Soft crab:

• April 1 to Dec. 15: 3.5 inches.

What is illegal for a recreational crabber?

It is illegal to sell crabs you catch, possess an egg-bearing crab or any female hard or peeler crab, according to the DNR. It is also illegal to set or fish a trotline, collapsible trap or crab net ring within 100 feet of someone else’s set gear.

It is illegal to fish with crab gear that belongs to another person, to harvest crabs while scuba diving and to use gear that is not included on the DNR website.