Shetland velvet crab closed season 2026
Every SSMO licence holder with a creel entitlement has to declare a block of four weeks in which they will not catch or land velvet crabs. The closure should coincide with a significant increase in the proportion of soft shells being observed in creels in their area. The timing tends to vary for different areas around Shetland.
A closure must start on one of the Mondays between 15th June and 31st August and it lasts until midnight on Sunday four weeks later.
The closed season will be over at midnight on 27th September. It is intended as a conservation measure to help protect the stock during the main breeding season, particularly when shells may be soft after moulting. Soft velvets are easily harmed through the stress and handling involved in being hauled up and discarded.
Under SSMO regulations it is illegal to land soft or berried velvet crabs at any time of year.
In recent years the successful small-boat mackerel fishery has helped take pressure off the velvet crab stock during the summer months.