• The blue crab is Maryland's official state crustacean.crabs image by Bionic Media from Fotolia.com
  
  According to David A. Fahrenthold, staff writer for the "Washington Post" and author of the article "Md. Crab Harvest Dropped in 2007," the state's blue crab harvest was decimated that year because of a summer drought that sent the crabs north into less salty waters. Pollution and overfishing were also substantial contributors to the problem. As a result, Maryland's crab laws were tightened in an effort to give the crab population a chance to recover.
  
  

Crabbing Dates and Times

• In Maryland, recreational crabbing is authorized from April 1st to December 15th of each year, and is permitted on any day of the week except for Wednesday. In April, October, November and December, crabbers can operate from half an hour after sunrise to 5:00 PM on the main bay, and from half an hour after sunrise until sunset on the inlets. In May, June, July, August and September crabbers can operate from half an hour before sunrise until 5 PM on the bay and from half an hour before sunrise until sunset on the inlets.
  
  Recreational crabbers who are using hand lines and dip nets to catch crabs from private piers or boat docks can crab at any time of the day and any day of the week.
  
  

Licensing Requirements

• According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, anyone who intends to catch crabs in the Chesapeake Bay or in any of its tributaries must obtain a Recreational Crabbing License if he is using a baited trotline, setting between 11 and 30 traps or rings or is using up to 10 eel pots.
  
  Most residents can purchase a license for $5.00; the cost is $2.00 for senior citizens or people who have a Chesapeake Bay sport fishing license and $10.00 for non-residents. People who intend to catch crabs using a boat must pay $15.00 for a Recreational Crabbing Boat License. Crabbers who fish from privately owned piers using dip nets or hand lines are not required to purchase a license.
  
  Licenses can be purchased online at wildlifelicense.com or over the phone by calling 1-800-918-2870. They can also be ordered in person at a Maryland Department of Natural Resources service center.
  
  

Crab Traps and Catch Limits

• Maryland authorizes recreational crabbers to use collapsible crab traps, trot lines, crab net rings, eel pots and dip nets. Crabbers that are fishing with dip nets and hand lines are allowed to catch no more than 24 hard shell crabs or 12 soft shell crabs. Licensed recreational crabbers that are using trotlines, eel pots and traps can catch and keep 24 hard shell crabs or 12 soft shell crabs.
  
  All hard shell crabs that are caught must be at least 5 inches long from one tip of the carapace to the other. Soft shell crabs can be no smaller than 3 1/2 inches long. All female crabs must be returned to the water.