For more information, see Health Advisory on page 26 of the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife’s 2021 Marine Fisheries Digest. No crabs may be harvested from the Newark Bay Complex. Crab pots must be tended at least once every 72 hours and no floating line maybe used on any pot or crab pot buoy. Non-commercial trot lines shall not exceed 150 feet in length with a maximum of 25 baits attached. All pots and trot lines shall be marked with the identification number of the owner, and no crab pot shall be placed in any area that would obstruct or impede navigation or in any creek less than 50 feet wide. Keep in mind that recreational trot lines shall not exceed 150 feet in length with a maximum of 25 baits. Undersized crabs and female crabs with eggs attached must be returned immediately. The minimum size for crabs that may be harvested – measured from point to point of shell – are 4-1/2 inches for hard crabs, 3-1/2 inches for soft crabs, and 3 inches for peelers or shedders. It is illegal to harvest or possess more than one bushel of crabs per day per person or offer for sale any crabs without having in your possession a valid commercial crabbing license. All non-collapsible Chesapeake-style crab pots set in any manmade lagoon or any water body less than 150 feet wide must also include a turtle excluder device inside all pot entrance funnels. King crab legs are actually shorter than the snow crab's, and are thicker with a spiky, tough-to-crack shell. The biggest among them can reach 20 pounds and measure five feet across, with store-bought legs weighing an average of 6 pounds. They eat a range of foods including mussels, oysters, small crustaceans, and decaying plant and animal matter, and they are often found in the Bay’s underwater grass beds. A non-commercial crab pot license is required for the use of not more than two non-collapsible Chesapeake-style crab pots or two trot lines to harvest crabs. Size is the most obvious difference between the two crab types, with king crabs being the larger specimen. Blue crabs have bright blue claws and four pairs of legsthe rearmost of which have paddle-like ‘fins’ that allow them to swim throughout the water column. Crabs may be taken recreationally in New Jersey waters with hand lines, manually operated collapsible traps or scoop nets without a license.
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