Estimates of Harvest Potential and Distribution of the Deep Sea Red Crab, Chaceon quinquedens, in the North Central Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Harvest potential, relative abundance, and geographic and bathymetric distribution are discussed for the red crab, Chaceon quinquedens, in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. Harvest potential is expressed as the number of trapable crabs present on fishing grounds defined as depths ranging from 677 m to 1043 m between 87.5O and 88.5OW longitude. Using various estimates of the effective fiihing area (€PA) of a trap, the number oftrapableredcrabsonthefishinggroundsrangedfrom 3 . 7~ 10sto 1 0 . 7~ lo6. Estimatesofcrabnumberssuggest there is a potential for commercial harvest in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico, east of the Mississippi River.However, fishery development must take into consideration the preponderance of females on the defined fishing grounds (MF ratio= 1:2.1) and the high incidence of ovigerous females (-20%) during much of theyear. Females generally dominated at all depth strata, but the proportion of males to females increased with depth. Reduced numbers of red crabs were collected off the western Louisiana coast and a shift in depth distribution was found. Minimum upper depth limit for red crabs west of the Mississippi River was 860 m as compared to 677 m east of the River. The known range of C. femeri is extended to 92O12W longitude.

Genetic Differences Within and Between Species of Deep-Sea Crabs (Chaceon) From the North Atlantic Ocean

“…This species occurs on the outer continental shelf and slope of the western Atlantic Ocean, from the Scotian Shelf off Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico (Haefner and Musick, 1974;Williams and Wigley, 1977;Serchuk and Wigley, 1982;Erdman, 1990). C. quinquedens is harvested in Canada (Lawton and Duggan, 1998), in New England (Steimle et al, 2001), and in the southeastern United States (Waller et al, 1995).…”

“…Little information about population genetic structure in C. quinquedens is available to guide fishery management (Diehl and Biesiot, 1994;Waller et al, 1995). To assess genetic subdivision in C. quinquedens, we examined the nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal repeat.…”

Catching Octopus vulgaris with traps in the Azores: first trials employing Japanese baited pots in the Atlantic

“…Thus, to assess for the potential of this species for exploitation by a trap based fleet, its stock assessment must be undertaken before any fishery occurs. We consider that, given the reasons stated above, the JBP may be suited for the development of a promising methodology to estimate the octopus abundance and population size, after some methodological aspects are decided, as per what has been used for crustacean stock assessment studies elsewhere (Eggers et al, 1982;Defeo et al, 1991;Waller et al, 1995;Aedo & Arancibia, 2003). Such a method would be particularly applicable in the Azores and similar regions (islands of Madeira, Canaries, Cape Verde or São Tomé e Principe), where this species is exploited, although reliable fishing statistics and accurate estimates of the actual fishing effort are not generally available, despite the fact that these are the preferred input data generators for stock assessment models.…”

Shellfish of the Gulf of Mexico

“…Of the ten species of crab shellfishery species, only one is a major fishery (blue crab), one a moderate, but important, fishery (Florida stone crab), and all the rest are minor fishery species. In addition, there are two deep-sea crabs that are found within the Gulf of Mexico, golden crab (Chaceon fenneri) and deep-sea red crab (C. quinquedens), that are fished in the Atlantic and have unexploited potential in the Gulf (Waller et al 1995;Trigg et al 1997;Kilgour and Shirley 2008). Below are brief overviews of the moderate fishery species mentioned above: Atlantic seabob in the United States and Mexico; spiny lobster in the United States, Mexico, and Cuba; and, the Florida stone crab in the United States (Florida).…”