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Experimental fishing for the Spider crab, Maia Squinado: sea and laboratory trials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Deborah M. Rodhouse
Deborah M. Rodhouse
Affiliation:
Shellfish Research Laboratory, Cama, Co. Galway, Ireland
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Extract

Sea trials, using baited pots (inkwell and French barrel) and nets (tangle and gill), were conducted for the spider crab Maia squinado off the west coast of Ireland from November 1978 to July 1980. A series of laboratory pot trials using inkwell pots were performed. Diving observations were made on the fishing grounds.

Catch per unit effort rose to a summer peak and decreased in autumn. There was no difference in size composition or sex ratio of the catch between the pots and nets. Mature males predominated in the catch with the highest male:female (M:F) ratios recorded in summer. Immatures were virtually absent from the catch. Segregation on the basis of sex and maturity appears to occur in summer. Mature males were found at about 10 m, in sandy areas with rocky outcrops. Mature females occurred at about 5 m, on a sand and shell gravel bottom with rock and weed (notably Laminaria). Immatures were rare and occurred just below the intertidal. The M:F ratio was lowest during the periods of the onshore and offshore migrations. Berried females were recorded from March to September with one brood produced each year.

Laboratory pot trials showed increased aggression among spider crabs in the presence of baited pots. Males drove other males away from pots and divided their time between agonistic encounters and searching. Females were not driven away and did not engage in aggressive encounters. This behaviour, and the observation that large males could reach the bait through the pot bars, possibly explains the absence of larger and smaller males from the pots.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , May 1984 , pp. 251 - 259
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1984

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