Recreational Blue Swimmer Crab Management Review

Blue swimmer crab management review

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is reviewing the rules for recreational blue swimmer crab fishing in the West Coast bioregion of Western Australia (WA) to make sure that fishers continue to have enjoyable and sustainable recreational fishing experiences.

Proposed West Coast bioregion recreational crabbing rules

DPIRD is proposing to:

• Standardise recreational bag and boat limits for blue swimmer crab in the West Coast bioregion. This makes it easier for fishers to make sure they’re doing the right thing.
• Implement measures to increase protection for undersize crabs that are yet to moult to legal size. This will increase the likelihood of catching legal size crabs during the open season and we hope this will improve fishing experiences.

New bag and boat limits

Given that most of the catch occurs in the West Coast bioregion, and because the majority of the feedback we are hearing is from fishers in this bioregion, we are proposing the following arrangements:

• Bag limit of 10 crabs
• Boat limit of 20 crabs when there are two or more Recreational Fishing Boat Licensed fishers on board.

Shifting the season

Extending the current crab fishing closure from Swan Canning rivers to Minninup Beach - south of Bunbury until 31 December would give crabs the opportunity to undergo an additional moult, meaning that there would be a higher likelihood of fishers catching legal sized crabs when the season opens on 1 January.

Why aren’t we changing the rules elsewhere in the State?

Blue swimmer crabs in WA are managed as two main stocks – a northern stock and a south-west stock.

Crabbing fishing behaviour varies throughout WA. Most recreational blue swimmer crab fishing occurs in the West Coast bioregion, particularly in areas which are close to metropolitan and regional centres with large populations, such as Peel Harvey and the Swan Canning River.

Fishing for blue swimmer crabs also occurs to a lesser extent outside of the West Coast bioregion. In the South Coast bioregion, crabbing is limited and is mostly carried out in estuarine environments with numbers fluctuating between years. In the North Coast and Gascoyne Coast bioregions, recreational fishers target both blue swimmer crabs and the larger green and brown mud crabs.

Fishers in other bioregions are still reporting great fishing experiences and stocks remain sustainable, so no changes are proposed outside of the West Coast bioregion.

Next Steps

When the consultation period closes at 5pm on 15 April 2026, we will review your feedback.

Your feedback will inform our advice to the Minister for Fisheries regarding any changes to the recreational crab fishing rules in WA.

We anticipate that any changes would be implemented prior to the Summer 2026/27 crabbing season in the West Coast bioregion.