Measurement Tips

How to measure fish:

  1. Place the fish on its side with the jaw closed.
  2. For soft-tailed fish, squeeze the tail fin together to obtain the maximum overall length.
    How to measure fish - fin compressed
  3. For hard-tailed fish, turn the tail to obtain maximum length.
    How to Measure Fish
  4. Measure a straight line from the tip of the snout to the extreme tip of the tail fin.

How to measure crabs:

  • For stone crab, measure from tip of claw to the first joint behind the immovable claw.
     Diagram showing proper measurement of stone crab claw
  • For blue crab, measure across the widest part of the body from tip of spine to tip of spine.
    diagram showing how to measure a blue crab