Wednesday October 8, 2025
SeafoodSource —
The U.S. state of Washington and the Suquamish Tribe have partnered on a study that will track where Dungeness crabs are going within the Puget Sound.
“This study will help us determine how crabs move around in central Puget Sound,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Crustacean Program Leader Katelyn Bosley said in a release. “This could even provide more insight about crab abundance and assist us in how we manage crab fishing seasons and set annual catch quotas.”
To learn how the crabs navigate seafloor pathways in the sound, the WDFW and the Suquamish Tribe caught, assessed, tagged, and released 555 male Dungeness crab. The green, two-inch long wire-like tags include an identification number and a phone number to report the catch to. Crabbers who find one of the marked crabs can submit the location, catch date, and condition of the crab through a website.
The WDFW said the data collected from the study could inform state and tribal managers in how they regulate the fishery in the future.
“Dungeness crab are managed in recreational and commercial fisheries under numerous distinct marked boundary lines within Puget Sound,” WDFW noted in a release. “Each marine area has its own specific catch quota, and this study could be an important link to better understand their whereabouts and movements.”
Researchers targeted Marine Area 10 of the sound, and sampling took place over the course of four days in late September.
“We have low or poor crab populations within Marine Areas 10, 11, and 13, and are hopeful studies like this can lead to creating more viable sustainable fisheries in Puget Sound,” Bosley said.
A pilot run was previously conducted with 100 tagged crabs in Marine Area 9, and in April 2025 the Swinomish Tribe tagged 500 crabs in Marine Area 8-1.
The tags are strategically placed to allow the crabs to retain the markers post-molt, allowing researchers to continue collecting data even after multiple molts.
Landings during the 2023-2024 coastal commercial Dungeness crab season were valued at USD 66.8 million (EUR 57 million) – the second highest catch in ten years. In April 2025, state regulators approved new line marking rules designed to reduce the risk of whale entanglements in the gear.