Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T18:19:38.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bennett, D. B., 1974. The effects of pot immersion time on catches of crabs, Cancer pagurus L. and lobsters, Homarus gammarus (L.). Journal du Conseil, 35, 332–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C. G. & Bennett, D. B. 1980. Population and catch structure of the edible crab Cancer pagurus in the English Channel. Journal du Conseil, 39, 88–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brosnan, D. M. 1981. Studies on the Biology, Ecology and Fishery of the Spider Crab Maia squinado Herbst (1788) off the West Coast of Ireland. M. Sc. Thesis, University College Galway.Google Scholar
Edwards, E. 1971. A Contribution to the Bionomics of the Edible Crab Cancer pagurus in English and Irish Waters. Ph. D. Thesis, University College Galway.Google Scholar
Edwards, E., 1979a. The spider boom. Fishing News, no. 3454, 26–28.Google Scholar
Edwards, E., 1979b. The Edible Crab and its Fishery in British Waters. 142 pp. Farnham, Surrey: Fishing News Books.Google Scholar
Edwards, E., 1979c. Preliminary results of an investigation on a new fishery for spider crabs {Maia squinado) along the south coast of England. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea {C.M. Papers and Reports), K:14, 9 pp. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Edwards, E., 1980. Preliminary results of a tagging experiment on the spider crab (Maia squinado) in the English Channel. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (C.M. Papers and Reports), K:12, 3 pp. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Hepper, B. T., 1977. The fishery for crawfish Palinurus elephas, off the coast of Cornwall. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 57, 925–941.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hiatt, R. W., 1948. The biology of the lined shore crab Pachygraspus crassipes Randall. Pacific Science, 2, 135–231.Google Scholar
Kergariou, G. De, 1971. L'araignée de mer, Maia squinado L., sur le littoral de Bretagne. Science et pêche, no. 205, 11–19.Google Scholar
Kergariou, G. De, 1974. Régime alimentaire de Maia squinado. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (C.M. Papers and Reports), K:36, 5 pp. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Kergariou, G. De, 1975. Contribution à l'étude de la reproduction de l'araignée de mer (Maia squinado H). International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (C.M. Papers and Reports), K: 34, 6 pp. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Kergariou, G. De, 1976. Premiers résultats obtenus par marquage de l'araignée de mer, Maia squinado, déplacements, mortalité par pêche. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (C.M. Papers and Reports), K: 14, 6 pp. [Mimeo.]Google Scholar
Miller, R. J., 1978. Entry of Cancer productus to baited traps. Journal du Conseil, 38, 220–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelton, R. G. J. & Hall, W. B. 1981. A comparison of the efficiency of the Scottish creel and inkwell pot in the capture of crabs and lobsters. Fisheries Resources, 1, 45–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevcic, Z., 1974. Problems of the economic exploitation of Brachyura crustaceans in the northern Adriatic. Acta adriatica, 16, 397–400. [In Jugoslavian, with English summary.]Google Scholar
Stevcic, Z., 1977. Contribution à la connaissance de la reproduction de l'araignée de mer (Maia squinado). Rapport et procès-verbaux des réunions. Commission Internationale pour l'exploration scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, 24 (4), 177–178.Google Scholar