There is no daily bag limit or possession limit on the Texas blue crab harvest for recreational crabbers. You can keep as many as you catch in a single outing, provided each crab measures at least five inches across the shell and is not an egg-bearing female. Those two rules, plus a valid saltwater fishing license and legal gear, are what actually govern your day on the water.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Crab and Ghost Shrimp Legal Devices and Restrictions
The Five-Inch Size Rule
Every blue crab you keep has to measure five inches at its widest point, from the tip of one lateral spine to the tip of the other. That is carapace width, not body length. Anything shorter goes back in the water right away.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Crab and Ghost Shrimp Legal Devices and Restrictions
One narrow exception: you may keep undersized crabs for use as bait, but only up to 5% by number of your total catch, and they must go into a separate container the moment they come out of the water. If a warden counts your catch and the undersized crabs are mixed with your keepers, or they exceed 5%, you are in violation.2Cornell Law Institute. 31 Texas Admin Code 57.996 – Crabs and Ghost Shrimp
Sponge Crabs Are Off-Limits
Egg-bearing females are called sponge crabs for the orange or brown egg mass visible beneath the abdomen. You cannot keep one at any size, under any circumstance. If you pull one up, release it.2Cornell Law Institute. 31 Texas Admin Code 57.996 – Crabs and Ghost Shrimp
License You Need Before Crabbing
You need a valid Texas fishing license with a saltwater endorsement. In practice that means a Resident Saltwater Fishing Package or a Resident All-Water Fishing Package, or the non-resident equivalents. Anyone under 17 is exempt.3Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fishing Licenses and Packages
Crabbing without the proper license is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor, with a fine between $25 and $500.4State of Texas. Texas Code Parks and Wildlife Code 46.015 – Penalty
Legal Gear
Texas authorizes six devices for taking crabs recreationally: a crab line, a wire-mesh crab trap, a dip or landing net, a folding panel trap (16 square feet maximum surface area), a sand pump, and an umbrella net. Trotlines are not on that list and cannot be used for crabs, even though they are legal for some fish species.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Crab and Ghost Shrimp Legal Devices and Restrictions
Crab Trap Rules
Wire-mesh traps carry the most specific requirements. Each trap can be no larger than 18 cubic feet. Each crab-retaining chamber must have at least two escape vents on the outside walls so undersized crabs can leave on their own. And every trap must include a degradable panel that will eventually break down and release anything inside if the trap is lost.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Legal Devices, Methods and Restrictions – Section: Crab Traps
Every recreational trap also has to be marked with a white floating buoy at least six inches tall, six inches long, and six inches wide, with a two-inch center stripe in a contrasting color. A plastic bottle will not do. A gear tag must be attached within six inches of the buoy (or the pier if the trap is tied off), showing your name and address or TPWD customer number along with the date you set the trap. Recreational gear tags are valid for 10 days.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Legal Devices, Methods and Restrictions – Section: Crab Traps
Placement rules vary by bay system. Some counties restrict traps near navigable channels, cap the number of traps per person in specific waters, or ban traps outright in places like the Cedar Bayou fish pass. Check current TPWD regulations for the water you plan to fish before setting out.
The 10-Day Annual Trap Closure
Once a year, Texas closes all crabbing with wire-mesh traps for 10 days so that volunteers and game wardens can pull abandoned “ghost traps” from the coast. For 2026, the closure runs February 20 through March 1.6Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Annual Texas Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Dates Set for 2026
During the closure, any wire-mesh trap left in the water is treated as litter under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 66.121. Wardens and volunteers can pull and destroy these traps without contacting the owner. Folding panel traps and other non-wire-mesh devices are not covered by the closure, but pulling everything beforehand is the clean approach.
Penalties
Most recreational crabbing violations are Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanors with fines of $25 to $500. That range covers crabbing without a license, keeping undersized crabs, possessing sponge crabs, and using untagged or improperly marked traps.7Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Laws, Penalties and Restitution – Section: Penalties
Game wardens have the authority to inspect your catch, measure crabs, check licenses, and look over your trap construction on the spot. A current license, a tape measure, and a separate container for any undersized bait crabs make an inspection a short conversation.