Florida blue crab is open all year. What closes is the traps — and it closes them on an alternating schedule that depends on whether the year is odd or even.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Statewide
Open all year with five traps per person, pulled by hand in daylight. What closes is the traps, not the season: Florida runs ten-day regional trap closures to clear derelict gear, on the east coast in even years and the west coast in odd ones, and you can still crab those weeks with a dip net.
- Size
- No size limit.
- Limit
- 10 gallons whole per person per day. Egg-bearing crabs may not be kept.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
Why Florida is different
Florida runs ten-day regional trap closures to clear derelict gear from the water, on the east coast in even years and the west coast in odd ones. In an even year that means the St. Johns River system in mid-January, then Brevard through Palm Beach and the Georgia line down through Volusia in August. In an odd year it moves to the Gulf side: Franklin County to the Alabama line in early January, then Broward through Pasco and Hernando through Wakulla in July.
What to actually do
A trap closure is not a fishing closure. You can still crab those weeks with a dip net or a line, which is what most casual crabbers use anyway. Five traps per person, pulled by hand in daylight, and the bag limit is ten gallons of whole crab per person per day with egg-bearing females prohibited — a limit so generous it is effectively no limit for anyone crabbing off a dock.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 33 Florida waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Lake Okeechobee — Palm Beach County
- Pensacola — Escambia County
- Destin — Okaloosa County
- Tampa Bay — Pinellas County
- Jacksonville — Duval County
- Lake Tohopekaliga — Osceola County
- Lake Istokpoga — Highlands County
- Navarre — Santa Rosa County
An open season is not permission to fish: Florida requires a licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
Is crab season open year-round in Florida?
Yes. Recreational blue crab harvest is open all year in Gulf and Atlantic state waters. The regional trap closures suspend trap use for ten days at a time, but other gear stays legal throughout.
How many blue crabs can I keep in Florida?
Ten gallons of whole crab per harvester per day, with no size limit, and egg-bearing crabs must be released.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.