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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on March 19, 2007
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2007 64(3):464-472; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm021
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© 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Injury in trapped Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister)

Julie S. Barber1,2, and J. Stanley Cobb1

1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 100 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
2 Glacier Bay National Park, PO Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99826, USA

Correspondence to J. S. Barber: tel: +1 508 990 2860 ext. 148; fax: +1 508 990 0449; e-mail: jsbdives{at}hotmail.com

Barber J. S., and Cobb, J. S. 2007. Injury in trapped Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 464–472.

Although traps are the most effective fishing equipment used to capture crabs they can also result in indirect damage to target species. We examined the effect of trap-soak time, crab density, and the legal to sublegal size ratio on injury rates to male Dungeness crabs, Cancer magister. Our field results show that injuries increase significantly with increased trap-soak time, and as a consequence of different size ratios (crabs in traps with a greater ratio of sublegal crabs had more injuries). The injury rate was independent of density. In a laboratory experiment, injured crabs were as capable as intact crabs of obtaining, defending, and consuming food. However, studies on other crab species indicate that injury reduces growth, delays reproduction, decreases mating success, and increases mortality. If the costs of injury are similar for Dungeness crabs, this could diminish the rate of recruitment into the fishery.

Keywords: behaviour, Cancer magister, Dungeness crab, injury, trap fisheries, trap-soak time

Received 27 March 2006; accepted 21 December 2006; advance access publication 19 March 2007.

Present address: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, 1213 Purchase Street, 3rd Floor, New Bedford, MA 02740, USA.


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