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Blue Land Crabs 

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Season Dates and Bag Limits

• Reglamentos En Espanol
• Closed season: July 1- October 31
• Daily recreational bag limit: 20 per person per day

Licensing Requirements

A recreational fishing license is required to harvest blue land crabs.  The shoreline exemption for anglers using a pole or line, not equipped with a fishing line retrieval mechanism, does not include anglers who use any type of gear other than hook and line.  For instance, crabbers who use crab nets, dip nets, landing nets, or harvest by hand will need to purchase fishing licenses.   See Shoreline Fishing FAQS for more information.

Allowable Harvesting Gear

• By hand or with the use of a landing or dip net
• You may not use bleach or any other chemical solution to harvest blue land crabs.
• You may not use traps to harvest

Additional Restrictions

• Harvest, possession, purchase, or sale of eggbearing blue land crabs is prohibited. 
• The practice of stripping or otherwise molesting eggbearing blue land crabs in order to remove the eggs is prohibited and the harvest, possession, purchase, or sale of blue land crabs from which the eggs, egg pouch, or bunion has been removed is prohibited.
• No person shall harvest or attempt to harvest any blue land crab on, upon, or from the right-of-way of any federal, state, or county-maintained road, whether paved or otherwise, or from any state park.

Please click here to learn more about land crabs in Florida.

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