Cook Inlet Tanner Crab Fishing Season Begins Oct. 1

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) will open the Tanner Crab sport and subsistence fisheries from October 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018. A valid permit is required to participate in either fishery. Permits are ONLY available through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game online store. Sign in at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/. Follow the link to “Crab and Shrimp Permits” to obtain your free permit online. A printed copy must be in possession while fishing for Tanner crab and harvest must be reported in ink on your permit before your catch is concealed. Online harvest reporting is required and can be completed at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/PU/. Reports are due by March 31, 2018.

The Cook Inlet-Resurrection Bay Saltwater Area will open to sport fishing and consists of all waters enclosed by a line extending east from Cape Douglas and a line extending south from Cape Fairfield, including the North Gulf Coast (refer to maps on the permit page online). To receive a Tanner crab sport permit, a sport fishing license is required. Alaskan residents may receive a Tanner crab subsistence permit without a sport fishing license, however, the fishery is limited to the designated subsistence area.

The bag and possession limit is three male Tanner crab four and one-half inches or greater in carapace (shell) width, including spines. One pot per person is allowed with a maximum of one pot per vessel. Review complete shellfish regulations on pages 81-83 of the 2017 Southcentral Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet.