Recreational Dungeness crab season on the San Mateo County coast is set to open Saturday, November 7, 2026, and run through Wednesday, June 30, 2027, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's 2026 regulations. It is the first opener since the Pacifica Municipal Pier partially collapsed in early June, as Coastside News reported. The city's pier page still reads "CLOSED AS OF 6/4/26."
Losing the pier takes more than a spot on the water. Under state law, crabbing from a public pier does not require a fishing license. Crabbing from Sharp Park Beach, a few hundred feet away, does for anyone 16 or older. For a household that crabbed off the pier every winter, the same habit now runs on different rules, and the license-free option has moved out of town.
The License Rule Follows the Structure
The CDFW licensing FAQ says ocean anglers do not need a sport fishing license on a public pier. It defines a public pier as a publicly owned, man-made structure connected to the coastline, open free to the public, and built or used mainly for angling access. The same page sets a narrow edge on that exemption. A publicly owned jetty or breakwater counts only if it forms the most seaward protective boundary of an ocean harbor. Promenades, seawalls, docks and other structures do not count. Size limits, bag limits and seasons still apply on a public pier.
That is why the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pier, the pier's official name, built in 1973 to support a former sewer line, drew such a loyal winter following. Palo Alto Online reported that the city describes it as the only pier in the Bay Area with free fishing and crabbing. People came for Dungeness crab in winter and for salmon and striped bass in summer. Read against the state definition, "free" refers to the license as much as the cost of admission.
Here is how the main options compare this season:
| Where you crab | Sport fishing license, ages 16+ | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Pacifica Municipal Pier | Not applicable | Closed since June 4, 2026 |
| Sharp Park, Linda Mar or Rockaway beaches | Required | Hoop nets and crab snares allowed from shore |
| A public fishing pier, such as Oyster Point Fishing Pier | Not required if the structure meets CDFW's public-pier definition | All size, bag and season rules still apply |
| Harbor jetties, such as Pillar Point Harbor | Only exempt if it is the harbor's most seaward protective boundary | Check posted rules before assuming the exemption |
Visit Pacifica lists Oyster Point Fishing Pier and Pillar Point Harbor as the nearby public-pier alternatives while Pacifica's pier is closed. It also suggests poke-poling off the Pillar Point jetty for cabezon and rockfish. Both sit outside city limits. A short walk from a Sharp Park driveway has become a drive for anyone who wants the old arrangement back.
Why the Pier Won't Be Back Before Spring
The next question is whether the pier reopens partway through the season. The city's own record suggests that is unlikely. The pier page's most recent posted update is dated August 21. The September 28 City Council packet is newer and shows where the work stands:
- June 4: The pier began to sink and crack, according to Coastside News. Public Works staff closed the pier and the abutment area, and the Chief Building Official red-tagged Chit Chat Café.
- June 9: The city demolished the café to keep it from falling into the ocean as the abutment kept settling.
- Early summer: Crews placed temporary rock revetment around the abutment to support it and slow the settling.
- August 24: Council ratified an emergency agreement with Power Engineering Construction Co.
- September 3: The city executed a limited notice to proceed for investigation and design. Construction is not authorized under that notice and needs separate city approval.
- September 14 and 28: Council voted to continue the emergency action. State contracting law requires a four-fifths vote to continue it at every regular meeting until the emergency ends.
The packet says the abutment and first deck "remain structurally unstable." The city is waiting on a design for a temporary brace around the first deck to hold the pier until it finds a permanent solution, and the pier stays closed until it is judged safe.
The money is also unsettled. Coastside News reported that the emergency work was estimated in late June at roughly $64 million, to be paid by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the city's insurer. The city had not yet received Cal OES approval, and staff said there is no guarantee the costs qualify. For scale, an earlier assessment after the late-2023 closure put a full repair at $19 million. The September packet describes Cal OES and FEMA support as something the city can request, not as funding it has received.
City Manager Sean Charpentier called the process an "iterative approach," with more answers expected only after the pier is stabilized. Public opinion is split. One resident told council the pier site could become an offshore reef. Many of the roughly 2,400 members of the Save Pacifica Pier Facebook group want it rebuilt. With design still underway as of late September and the long-term plan open, the beach is the realistic Pacifica crabbing option for the 2026–27 season.
What Shore Crabbing Asks of You
Crabbing from the beach has its own gear rules. Hoop nets may be used from shore or shore-connected structures without surface buoys, must be checked at least every two hours, and have no numeric limit north of Point Arguello. That differs from the two-net limit on a public pier. The same regulations allow crab loop traps, or snares, to carry up to six loops. CDFW's crab page says hoop nets and loop traps stay legal even when crab traps are restricted. The Recreational Crab Trap Validation applies only to conventional crab traps, including those used from shore or a pier. It is not required for hoop nets or snares.
Limits are the same everywhere: 10 Dungeness crab a day, with a minimum size of 5¾ inches measured across the shell in front of the lateral spines, under the 2026 regulations. Crab traps may not be set during the seven days before the opener.
The rule most likely to change before November 7 is the trap question. Pacifica sits in CDFW's San Francisco region, which runs from Point Arena to Pigeon Point. For whale-entanglement purposes it falls in Fishing Zone 3, which runs from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line south to Pigeon Point. Last season, after a May 15, 2026 risk assessment, CDFW's recreational trap ban in Zone 3 took effect at 6 p.m. on May 22. On June 18 the department kept the ban in place through the end of that season. That ban belonged to the 2025–26 season. As of early October, the Whale Safe Fisheries page lists the 2026–27 recreational season as closed and shows no 2026–27 action yet. Anyone planning to use a conventional trap should check that page in the days before the opener. It is also worth checking current state public health advisories on shellfish before eating any crab.
Where the Pier Crowd Can Go in Pacifica
Visit Pacifica's guide lists Sharp Park Beach as open for shoreline fishing while the pier is closed. It also points to Linda Mar for spring surfperch and summer striped bass, and to Rockaway for shore casting. Farther along the coast, the guide names Pedro Point for fall rockfish, Mori Point for salmon and bass, and San Pedro Beach and San Pedro Point for king salmon, striped bass, halibut and cabezon. It presents these as fishing spots, not specifically as crabbing grounds.
The city's emergency order covers the pier and an adjacent beach area, so fencing and signs at Sharp Park are the best guide to what is open on any given morning.
For gear, New Coastside Bait & Tackle is at 1604 Francisco Blvd, the address Visit Pacifica gives gear shoppers. The morning coffee stop has also moved. Chit Chat Café sold coffee, food and fishing supplies at the pier entrance, and its other location at 5 W. Manor Drive is still open.
The winter tradition still works from Sharp Park, Linda Mar or Rockaway with a hoop net, a snare and a current sport fishing license in your pocket. If you'd rather keep crabbing license-free, Oyster Point is the nearest public pier Visit Pacifica names, and the pier rules there still apply. For more on the coast's other routines, see our Pacifica neighborhood page and our earlier look at a Pacifica summer without the pier.
The pier's future will shape the Sharp Park waterfront for years. The Knapp Team is following each council decision and can talk through what it might mean for your home's value as the plans take shape. Ask us for a free home valuation whenever you're ready.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
