The Swan and Canning rivers have location-specific Western Australian blue swimmer crab rules. This page previously reversed the size rule: legal crab must be at least 127 mm across the carapace, not “no larger than” that measurement.
Current core rules
The current Swan/Canning daily bag limit is five blue swimmer crabs per licensed fisher, with a boat limit of 20 when the required number of Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence holders are aboard. A seasonal closure runs from September 1 through November 30 in the affected Perth and South West waters.
Check before fishing
Rules are under active review for the 2026/27 season. Use Western Australia’s official rules page for the current closure, gear, license and bag-limit details rather than relying on a year injected into an old article.
Official WA blue swimmer crab rules
Official rules checked August 13, 2026.