A new computer technique for estimating the size of 50% sexual maturity from crab morphometric data is described. Using nonhierarchical cluster analysis, crabs are assigned to either of two maturity groups based on the size of one body dimension relative to another. The size of 50% maturity is then estimated by using nonlinear regression to fit a logistic function to percent maturity and size estimates. The size of 50% maturity in the eastern Bering Sea was estimated to be 102.8 and 101.9 mm (carapace length) for male and female Paralithodes camtschatica and 114.7 mm (carapace width) for male Chionoecetes bairdi. These estimates are similar to estimates for these species obtained previously by other techniques.Key words: crabs, growth, sexual maturity, Paralithodes, Chionoecetes
Minimum size limits for the commercial harvest of tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio) are based on the sizes of sexual maturity. Establishing such size limits in the eastern Bering Sea is complicated by a large regional variation in the size of maturity. A computer technique was developed which partitioned the eastern Bering Sea into subareas that were relatively homogeneous with respect to the size of maturity. The best partitioning for C. bairdi was a separation of the eastern Bering Sea into two subareas along 167°15′N longitude. No acceptable partitioning could be found for C. opilio. The size of 50% maturity for male C. bairdi was estimated to be 108.9 mm carapace width in the western subarea and 117.0 mm in the eastern subarea. The size of maturity upon which the current minimum size for C. bairdi is based is nearly the same as the size estimated for the western subarea but significantly less than the size estimated for the eastern subarea.Key words: crabs, size of maturity, Chionoecetes bairdi, Chionoecetes opilio, tanner crab, eastern Bering Sea
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