Question: Is it legal to keep female Dungeness crab that meet the minimum size requirements or do they have to be thrown back? I see a lot of people keeping only the males and tossing the females back and so wonder if the regulations require that only the males can be kept?

Answer: Sport fisherman may keep the female Dungeness crab - commercial fishermen must throw them back. Since the females are often much smaller and less meaty than the males and lack the large claws, many fishermen toss them back so they can reproduce more young for future generations. The larger females that meet the minimum size requirements also carry the most eggs and produce the most offspring, so its beneficial for the population to let the females go. However, there is no law that compels you to do so.