SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/fish-sexing-crab

How can you tell a female Dungeness crab from a male?

Females have a wider abdominal flap.

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  1. Females have a narrower flap
  2. Females have a wider abdominal flap ✔
  3. Females have longer claws

Why: Flip the crab over and look at the abdominal flap. Females have a wider flap than males, and only males may be kept.

Huh, didn't know that: In Puget Sound it is illegal to keep only the claws of a crab.

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What's it called when a crab walks to its part-time job? A side hustle.
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References

Answer: Females have a wider abdominal flap. Flip the crab over and look at the abdominal flap. Females have a wider flap than males, and only males may be kept.

  1. WDFW Recreational crabbing in Puget Sound wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/basics/recreational-crabbing-puget-sound
    Female crabs can be identified by their wider abdominal flap.
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. WDFW Recreational crabbing in Puget Sound wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/basics/recreational-crabbing-puget-sound
    It is also illegal to keep only the claws of crabs.
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  3. WDFW Recreational crabbing in Puget Sound wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/basics/recreational-crabbing-puget-sound
    you must keep the shell to prove the crab was legal to harvest.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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