New Jersey sets its crabbing season by the gear rather than by the animal. If you are using pots or trot lines there are dates; if you are using a hand line or a collapsible trap, there is no licence and the rules are different.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Crab pots and trot lines
The regulation reads that no licence holder may set a crab pot "except between April 6 to December 4 in Delaware Bay and between March 15 and November 30 in all other waters". Pots may be tended around the clock outside Delaware Bay, but only from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. inside it, and every pot must be checked and emptied at least once every 72 hours. Pots and trot lines need their own licence — single hand lines and collapsible traps do not.
- Limit
- One bushel a day. Egg-bearing females must be released immediately.
Delaware Bay, crab pots and trot lines
Three weeks later in and four days later out than the rest of the state, and the only waters where tending hours are restricted: 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. prevailing time. A pot is capped at 30 inches a side with mesh no smaller than an inch, and a non-commercial trot line at 150 feet with 25 baits.
- Limit
- One bushel a day.
Read on 2026-09-14 from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. 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 New Jersey is different
The regulation is precise: no licence holder may set a crab pot "except between April 6 to December 4 in Delaware Bay and between March 15 and November 30 in all other waters". Delaware Bay opens three weeks later and closes four days later than the rest of the state, and it is the only place where tending hours are restricted — 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., against around the clock everywhere else.
What to actually do
Every pot must be checked and emptied at least once every 72 hours, which is the rule that turns a casual pot into a commitment. The harvest limit is one bushel a day, egg-bearing females go back immediately, and a pot is capped at 30 inches a side. Single hand lines and collapsible traps need no licence at all, which is why most casual crabbing on the bay side is done with a chicken neck and a net.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 14 New Jersey waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Sandy Hook — Monmouth County
- Cape May — Cape May County
- Barnegat — Ocean County
- Round Valley Reservoir — Hunterdon County
- Lake Hopatcong — Morris County
- Manasquan Reservoir — Monmouth County
- Union Lake — Cumberland County
- Greenwood Lake — Passaic County
Questions
When can I set crab pots in New Jersey?
March 15 to November 30 in all waters except Delaware Bay, where the season is April 6 to December 4.
Do I need a licence to crab in New Jersey?
For crab pots and trot lines, yes. Single hand lines and collapsible traps do not require one, and they are not tied to the pot season dates.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.