All crab pots must be tended at least once every 72 hours. Crab pots must be marked with the owners information on the buoy. Only two crab pots per licensed angler. All crabbers must have a Delaware recreational fishing license. You are not allowed to check or move another person’s crab pots, that is considered poaching. It is unlawful to have more than two crab pots per person in a vessel. This is why collecting ghost crab pots can be illegal.
2311. Crab pot attendance; abandonment; confiscation; forfeiture.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who places, uses or sets a crab pot in the tidal waters of this State to fail to tend and remove crabs from said crab pot at least once every 72 hours.
(b) Failure to tend and remove crabs from a crab pot in the tidal waters of this State (Delaware) at least 72 hours after said pot is tagged by the Department shall constitute abandonment of said crab pot.
(c) Any employee of the Department authorized to enforce this chapter shall be authorized to seize and confiscate any crab pot which has been determined to have been abandoned pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Upon a determination that a crab pot has been abandoned and seized by the Department, ownership in said crab pot shall be forfeit to the Department.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section, any employee of the Department authorized to enforce this chapter shall be authorized to seize any crab pot which fails to be placed, used or set in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(f) Title to a crab pot seized by the Department and not claimed by the lawful owner after proper notification from the Department within 90 days of said notification shall be forfeit to the Department.
Noncommercial crabbing; daily limits.
(a) Noncommercial crabbing is permitted in any of the waters under the jurisdiction of the State unless otherwise posted by the Department.
(b) It is unlawful for any person actively engaged in noncommercial crabbing to sell any crabs.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, use, set or tend any noncommercial crab pot unless said pot is attached to an all white buoy with said person’s full name and permanent mailing address inscribed either on the white buoy or on a waterproof tag attached to said buoy that is legible at all times.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to take in any 1 day more than 1 bushel of blue crabs unless otherwise authorized to do so by license or permit.
(e) Unless otherwise authorized, it shall be unlawful for any person to leave, place, use, set or tend any noncommercial crab pots in the tidal waters of this State between and including December 1 and the last day of February immediately following.
(f) Unless otherwise authorized, it shall be unlawful for any person who does not have a valid commercial crab pot license to have, place, use, set or tend more than 2 crab pots in the tidal waters of this State.
TITLE 7
Conservation
Shellfish
CHAPTER 23. Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus)