N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6, § 44.2 – Crabs.

(1) A crab pot or trap means a box-like device, made of any material, which is usually square or pyramid shaped either with sides that fall open to provide ingress, or with sides with openings to the lower of two inner chambers, the upper being reached through a slotted baffle, or, if having only one chamber, sides with openings to that chamber.
(2) Sinking line means negatively buoyant line which will sink to the bottom of the water column if not supported by a buoy. Braided steel cable shall not be used as sinking line.
(3) Terrapin excluder device means a rectangular device not larger than (in either dimension) four and three-quarters inches wide by one and three-quarters inches high attached to the end of the entrance funnel of a crab trap.
(4) Carapace width means the longest straight line width of the body shell, including any spines, or spikes, but not including claws, legs or other appendages.
(5) Claw length is measured along the bottom of the claw, from the joint to the lower tip of the claw.
(6) Peeler or shedder blue crab means a hard blue crab which has a fully formed soft shell beneath the hard outer shell and the impending shedding process is evidenced by the white sign along the outer rim of the paddle-like appendages on the crab's fifth pair of legs.
(7) Jonah crab bycatch indicates there must be fewer pounds of Jonah crab onboard the fishing vessel at all times during a fishing trip than the pounds of the target species the deployed gear is targeting. Target species are those species primarily sought by the fishermen and are the subject of directed fishing effort.
(b) Identification of gear used in taking of crabs.
Gear used in taking crabs shall be identified as follows:
(1) If crab pots or traps are marked on the surface of the water, they shall have attached to them a floating buoy or identification marker using sinking line as defined in subdivision (a) of this section. Braided steel cable shall not be used as sinking line. The floating buoy or identification marker must be constructed and placed so as to be clearly visible on the surface of the water. Containers, bottles or jugs originally designed to contain liquids shall not be used as buoys or markers to identify the location of crabs pots or traps.
(2) Each buoy or marker attached to a crab pot or trap shall be of a distinctive color contrasting sufficiently with the background water color to be visible in daylight for a minimum distance of 100 feet. The number, including any letters, assigned the holder of a crab permit for the current year at the time he or she obtains a crab permit shall be painted or otherwise affixed on each buoy or marker in a contrasting color, or branded on each buoy or marker, in clearly visible characters. The same color or combination of colors shall be used on all buoys or markers bearing the same permit number. In addition, all crab pot buoys shall be marked with fluorescent or reflective paint, tape, or other reflective material or reflectors.
(3) All crab pots or traps shall be marked or branded, in characters not less than three- fourths inch in height with the number, including any letters, assigned the holder of a crab permit for the current year at the time he or she obtains a crab permit. If the construction of a pot or trap does not allow it to be marked by branding, that pot or trap shall be marked by a tag or other device bearing, in clearly visible and legible characters, the same number appearing on a buoy or marker used to identify that pot or trap. This tag or other device shall be of a material that is not deteriorated by sea water and shall be firmly attached to the pot or trap it identifies.
(4) Crab pots shall not be placed within 25 feet of designated navigation channels, and all floating buoys or identification markers and lines attached to such pots shall remain outside designated navigation channels at all times, except that:
1. (i) Crab pots which are directly attached to the shoreline or a bulkhead may be placed within 25 feet of a designated navigation channel provided that neither the pot nor any attached lines or markers are within such channel; and
2. (ii) Crab pots or traps that are affixed to a vessel with at least one person aboard may be placed within 25 feet of a designated navigation channel.
(5) Violations of any provision of this Part shall subject the violator to the penalties fixed by the Environmental Conservation Law and may result in the suspension or revocation of any crab permit.
(c) Construction of escape panels in crab pots or traps.
(1) Crab pots or traps made of any material other than untreated natural wood shall contain on a side of the pot, but not the bottom, an escape panel, which when open, will provide an unobstructed oval or rectangular opening of not less than six by four inches in length and height. If this panel is constructed of wood, it shall be untreated natural wood not more than three-eighths of an inch thick. If the panel is constructed of any material other than untreated natural wood, it shall be hinged to open. The panel shall be hinged in such a manner that upon degradation of the material keeping the panel closed, the panel is released to produce an opening which is not blocked or otherwise obstructed by the panel material. Hinged panels shall be held in the closed position with either untreated, uncoated ferrous wire not more than three thirty-seconds of an inch in diameter or an untreated natural fiber such as cotton, sisal, hemp or manila not more than three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The door or the side panel (which makes up the door) may serve as the escape panel if the door or side panel (which makes up the door), including any latching mechanism for the door, is fastened to the pot with the degradable materials listed above. At least three sides of the door or side panel must be unattached when the material degrades. If the pot or trap is constructed of nylon, polypropylene, or any other synthetic fiber mesh netting placed over the frame, the escape panel may be made by having a section of the mesh netting on the outside of the parlor section comprised of an untreated natural fiber which when rotten out or deteriorated will leave an opening of at least the size specified for an escape panel in this subdivision.
(2) No person shall set or place a crab pot or trap in the water of the State unless such pot or trap is equipped with an escape panel of the minimum size specified in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, except that no escape panel shall be required for crab pots or traps with sides that fall open to provide ingress.
(d) Use of terrapin excluder devices in blue crab pots or traps.
(1) A terrapin excluder device, as defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, must be used on all non-collapsible, Chesapeake-style crab pots or traps that are fished in the areas detailed below:
1. (i) within the bays, harbors, coves, rivers, tributaries and creeks that enter into Long Island Sound;
2. (ii) within the harbors, coves, ponds, rivers, and creeks that enter into Flanders Bay, Great Peconic Bay, Cutchogue Harbor, Little Peconic Bay, Hog Neck Bay, Noyack Bay, Southold Bay, Shelter Island Sound, Pipes Cove, Greenport Harbor, Orient Harbor, Hallock Bay, Northwest Harbor, Gardiners Bay, Napeague Bay and Fort Pond Bay;
3. (iii) within the rivers, tributaries, creeks and basins that enter into Jamaica Bay, Hempstead Bay, South Oyster Bay, Great South Bay, Moriches Bay and Shinnecock Bay on the south shore of Long Island;
4. (iv) within the creeks and tributaries that enter into Raritan Bay, Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull surrounding Staten Island; and
5. (v) within the tributaries and creeks of the Hudson River that lie within the marine and coastal district, as defined in Environmental Conservation Law 13-0103, including the waterways within Piermont marsh.
(2) The terrapin excluder device, as defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, shall be securely fastened inside each funnel to effectively reduce the size of the funnel opening to no larger than four and three-quarters inches wide and one and three-quarters inches high.
(3) If the department determines that mortality of diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) in blue crab pots is causing a decline in the terrapin population of a given water body or area that is not listed in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the department may by order mandate use of terrapin excluder devices in such areas. The Director, Division of Marine Resources, is authorized to issue orders to designate areas in which terrapin excluders are required pursuant to this section.
(e) Size limits.
(1) Blue crab size limits. No person shall possess or land any blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) with a carapace width less than four and one half inches in length for hard shell blue crabs, three and one half inches in length for soft shall blue crabs, and three inches in length for peeler or shedder blue crabs.
(2) Jonah crab size limits. No person shall possess or land any whole Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) with a carapace width less than four and three quarters inches in length.
(f) Permit holders may possess or land whole Jonah crabs or may remove claws at sea, keeping the claw and returning the crab to the water. If the permit holder is taking more than a five gallon bucket full of claws, those claws must meet a minimum size limit of two and three-quarters inches claw length. If five gallons or less of detached claws is possessed or landed, there is no minimum claw length. Only whole Jonah crab may be possessed or landed recreationally.

(a) Definitions.