REFERENCECOPY

Do Not Remove from the Library

If P r. I

Biological Report 82 (11.55)

u J 11 UI IU 1’.

Natibnkl Wetlands Research CentitTR EL-82-4

June 1986 700 Cajun Dome Rou!e~,,~ rd

Lafayette, Louisicrncl 70.3Y

Species Profiles: Life Histories and

Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes

and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico)

BLUE CRAB

Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Coastal Ecology Group

Waterways Experiment Station

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Species Profiles:

of Coastal F

Life Histories and Environmenta 1 Requirements

ishes and Invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico)

Biological Report 82(1155)

TR EL-82-4

June 1986

BLUE CRAB

Harriet M. Perry and Thomas D. McIlwain

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Ocean Springs, MS 39564

Project Manager

Carroll Cordes

Project Officer

David Moran

National Coastal Ecosystems Team

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1010 Gause Boulevard

Slidell, LA 70458

Performed for

Coastal Ecology Group

Waterways Experiment Station

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Vicksburg, MS 39180

and

National Coastal Ecosystems Team

Research and Development

Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Department of Interior

Washington, DC 20240
DISCLAIMER

The mention of trade names does not constitute endorsement or recommendation

of use by the Federal Government.

This series should be referenced as follows:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19

and environmental requirements of coazil

Species profiles: life histories

fishes and invertebrates. U.S.

Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4.

This profile should be cited as follows:

Perry, H.M., and T.D. McIlwain. 1986. Species profiles: life histories and

environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Gulf of

Mexico)--blue crab. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11.55). U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 21pp.
PREFACE

This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms,

principally fish, of sport, commercial, or ecological importance. The profiles

are designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a brief

comprehensive sketch of the biological characteristics and environmental

requirements of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be

expected to react to environmental changes caused by coastal development. Each

profile has sections on taxonomy, life history, ecological role, environmental

requirements, and economic importance, if applicable. A three-ring binder is

used for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared.

This project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to one of

the following addresses.

Information Transfer Specialist

National Coastal Ecosystems Team

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

NASA-Slide11 Computer Complex

1010 Gause Boulevard

Slidell, LA 70458

or

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station

Attention: WESER-C

Post Office Box 631

Vicksburg, MS 39180

iii
CONVERSION TABLE

Metric to U.S. Customary

Multiply !!Y To Obtain

millimeters (mm)

centimeters (cm)

meters (m)

kilometers (km)

0.03937 inches

0.3937 inches

3.281 feet

0.6214 miles

square meters (m2)

square kilometers (km')

hectares (ha)

10.76 square feet

0.3861 square iniles

2.471 acres

liters (1)

cubic meters (m3)

cubic meters

0.2642

35.31

0.0008110

gallons

cubic feet

acre-feet

milligrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces

grams (9) 0.03527 ounces

kilograms (kg) 2.205 pounds

metric tons (t) 2205.0 pounds

metric tons 1.102 short tons

kilocalories (kcal) 3.968 British thermal units

Celsius degrees 1.8('C) + 32 Fahrenheit degrees

inches 25.40 millimeters

inches 2.54 centimeters

feet (ft) 0.3048 ineters

fathoms 1.829 meters

miles (mi) 1.609 kilometers

nautical miles (rmi) 1.852 kilometers

square feet (ft2)

acres

square miles (mi2)

0.0929 square meters

0.4047 hectares

2.590 square kilometers

gallons (gal) 3.785

cubic feet (ft3) 0.02831

acre-feet 1233.0

liters

cubic meters

cubic meters

ounces !oz) 28.35

0.4536

0.9072

grams

kilograms

metric tons

pounds (lb)

short tons (ton)

British thermal units (Btu) 0.2520 kilocalories

Fahrenheit degrees 0.5556("F - 32) Celsius degrees

iV

U.S. Customary to Metric
CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE ................................. iii

CONVERSION TABLE ............................ iV

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................. V i

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE . . . . . . .

MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN THE SERIES' : : :

LIFE HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Spawning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Larvae................

Juveniles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adults................

Migrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GROWTH

ECOLOGICAL'ROLE : : : : : : : : : : : : :

THE FISHERY . . .

Commercial Harki : : : : : : : : : :

Recreational Harvest . . . . . . . . .

Incidental Harvest . . . . . . . . . .

Factors Affecting Commercial Landings

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . .

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3

z

4

5

6

5

8

9

9

LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

V
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Gerald Adkins, Louisiana Department of Wildlife

and Fisheries and to Paul Hammerschmidt, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, for

their reviews of the manuscript. A special thanks to Cindy Dickens for typing

the manuscript and to Linda Laird for preparing the illustrations.

V i
Figure 1. Blue crab (from Rathbun 1930).

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE

Scientific name . . . . . Callinectes

sapidus Rathbun 1896

Preferred common name . . . Blue crab

(Figure 1)

Other common names . . Common edible

crab, edible blue crab

Class . . . . . . . . . . . Crustacea

Order . Decapoda

Infraorder' : : : : : : : : 'Brachyura

Family . . . . . . . . . . Portunidae

Geographical range: Distributed

throughout the coastal waters of

the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 2).

Williams (1974) defined the range

Zinc

Occasionally Nova Scotia,

and northern Massachusetts

to nbrthern Argentina, including

Bermuda and the Antilles;

Oresund, Denmark; the Netherlands

and adjacent North Sea; southwest

France (found twice); Golfo di

Genova; northern Adriatic;

Aegean, western Black, and

eastern Mediterranean seas.

MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS

Williams (1974) provided

detailed morphological descriptiona

Frontal margin of the carapace with

four inner orbital teeth. Anterolateral margin of carapace with 9

spines or teeth, the posterior-most

strongly developed. Carapace about

2.5 times as wide as long, moderately

convex and nearly smooth. Granulations on the inner branchial and

cardiac regions of the carapace.

Sex determined externally by the

shape of the abdomen. Abdomen of

the male T-shaped. Male gonopods

(copulatory organs) reach nearly to

or extend beyond the tip of the

abdomen. Immature females with

triangular abdomen; abdomen of mature

females semi-circular. Maturity in

males cannot be determined externally.

Color variable, with shades of

grayish, bluish, or brownish green

occurring. The propodi of chelae of

1
KILOMETERS

Figure 2. Blue crabs are distributed throughout the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and are most abundant in waters up to 35 m. Greatest reported commercial landings occur north of 28'N latitude.

r c
males blue on the inner and outer

surfaces tipped with red. The fingers

of chelae of mature females orange

tipped with purple.

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES

The blue crab fisheries have become

increasingly important in the Gulf

States. Reported landings for the

Gulf of Mexico in 1984 exceeded 51

million lb with an ex-vessel value

approaching $15 million: increases of

4l% and 29%, respectively, compared to

1983.l In addition to the commercial

hard crab fishery, there exist a substantial recreational fishery and an

expanding commercial and recreational

fishery for soft-shelled crabs.

Blue crabs occupy a variety of

habitats. The upper, middle, and

lower estuary and adjacent marine

area together constitute the blue

crab habitat. Early larval stages are

found in the lower estuary and adjacent marine waters; salinities in

excess of 20.0 ppt are required for

successful development. Later stage

zoeae exist mainly in the open gulf

where their area1 and vertical distribution determine their eventual

transport shoreward. Blue crabs enter

the estuary as megalopae, adopting a

more benthic existence. The molt to

the first crab stage takes place

within the estuary. Factors affecting

distribution and survival include substratum, food availability, available

shelter, water temperature, and

salinity. Because blue crabs occupy

a variety of habitats and are an

integral part of the coastal ecosystem! maintenance of the entire

estuarine system in a condition

suitable for continued production is

of prime importance.

‘IUnless otherwise noted, all statistical data presented in either the text

or tables are from Fishery Statistics

of the United States and Current

fish= Statistimrious years),

both published by the National Marine

Fisheries Service.

LIFE HISTORY2

Spawning

Spawning of blue crabs in northern

gulf waters is protracted with eggbearing females occurring in coastal

and estuarine waters in the spring,

summer, and fall (Gunter 1950,

Daugherty 1952, More 1969, Adkins

1972, Perry 1975). Additionally,

Adkins (1972) found evidence of winter

spawning in offshore Louisiana waters

based on commercial catches of "berry"

crabs in December, January, and

February, and Daugherty (1952) noted

that crabs in southern Texas may spawn

year round in years with mild winters.

For most marine animals mating

and spawning are synonymous; however,

in the case of the blue crab, the two

events occur at different times. The

female mates in the soft-shell state

following the pubertal or terminal

molt (in the female blue crab the

cycle of growth and molting terminates with a final ecdysis). After

insemination, the male continues to

carry the female until her shell has

hardened. Spawning usually occurs

within 2 months of mating in the

spring and summer. Females that mate

in the fall usually delay spawning

until the following spring. Sperm

transferred to the female remain

viable for a year or more and are used

for repeated spawnings.

The fertilized eggs are extruded and

attached to fine setae on the endopodites of the pleopods, forming an egg

mass known as a "sponge," "berry," or

"porn-porn." As many as two million

eggs may be present in a single

sponge. The sponge is initially

bright orange, becoming progressively darker as the larvae develop

and absorb the yolk. Just prior to

hatching, the sponge is black. The

eggs hatch in about 2 weeks.

Churchill (1921) and Van Engel (1958)

have provided detailed data on reproduction and spawning of blue crabs.

21nformation in the following sections

was taken from Perry et al. (1984).

3
Larvae

Costlow and Bookhout (1959) reported

seven zoeal stages and one megalopal

stage (Figure 3). An eighth zoeal

stage was sometimes observed though

survival to the megalopal stage was

rare. Development through the seven

zoeal stages required from 31 to

49 days; the megalopal stage persisted

from 6 to 20 days. In salinities

below 20.1 ppt the larvae rarely

survived the first molt.

The larval life history of the blue

crab in the Gulf of Mexico is poorly

understood. Although Daugherty

(1952), Menzel (1964), and Adkins

(1972) specifically discussed the

distribution of blue crab larvae,

the possibility of co-occurrence of

the larvae of the lesser blue crab

(C. similis) must be considered. The

temporal and spatial overlap in spawning habits of the two species (Perry

1975), coupled with the difficulty in

using the early morphological descriptions of the blue crab larvae from

the Atlantic (Costlow and Bookhout

1959) to reliably identify gulf specimens, suggests that published accounts

of the seasonality of blue crab larvae

are questionable. Recognizing the

difficulty in separating the two

species, King (1971), Perry (1975),

and Andryszak (1979) did not differentiate between the larvae of the blue

crab and the lesser blue crab.

Perry and Stuck (1982a) noted

that early stage Callinectes zoeae (I

and II) were present in Mississippi

coastal waters in the spring, summer,

and fall. Adkins (1972) reported blue

crab larvae were present year-round in

Louisiana, but did not separate the

zoeal and megalopal stages. The

sampling programs of Menzel (1964)

and Andryszak (1979) were of limited

duration. Perry and Stuck (1982a)

and Andryszak (1979) found only the

early stage zoeae abundant nearshore.

Callinectes megalopae have been

reported to occur throughout the year.

Perry (1975) found megalopae in

Mississippi Sound in all months; peak

abundance was in the late summer-early

fall and in February. In Texas

coastal waters, Callinectes megalopae

have been found in all seasons

(Daugherty 1952, More 1969, King

1971). King (1971) noted three waves

of megalopae in Cedar Bayou, Texas:

the first from January through March,

the second in May and June, and the

third in October.

Attempts to separate the megalopae

of C. 'sapidus and C. similis, using

the-characters developed by Bookhout

and Costlow (1977), have been largely

unsuccessful because of apparent morphological differences in larvae from

the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.

Stuck et al. (1981) and Stuck and

Perry (1982) provided characters

useful i n distinguishing the

megalopae and early crab stages of the

two species. Subsequent analysis of

archived plankton samples from

Mississippi and Louisiana coastal

waters has furnished information on

the seasonality of C. sapidus megalopae in the northern gulf (Stuck and

Perry 1981). Callinectes sapidus

megalopae were rarely found in samples

before May. These data suggest that

the reported winter peaks of

Callinectes larvae in the northern

gulf are probably referable to 5.

similis.

Reports on the vertical distribution

of Callinectes megalopae appear conflicting. Williams (I97I), King

(1971), Perry (1975), and Smyth (1980)

reported megalopae to be most abundant

in surface waters. In contrast, 96%

of the Callinectes megalopae collected

by Tagatz (1968a) and all of those

collected by Sandifer (1973) were from

bottom waters. Stuck and Perry (1981)

found that portunid megalopae (C.

sapidus, C. similis, and Portunus

spp.) showed no affinity for surface

or bottom waters. They noted that the

majority of large catches of C.

sapidus megalopae were taken on rising

or peak tides, whereas the megalopae

4

d
Figure 3. Larval stages of the blue crab (Stuck and Perry 1982).

of c. similis and Portunus spp. were

commonly collected on both rising and

falling tides.

Little is known about the mechanisms

of larval transport and dispersal of

blue crab zoeae in the northern gulf.

Based on the data of Menzel (1964),

Andryszak (1979), and Perry and Stuck

(1982a), it appears that development

through the late zoeal stages (III

through VII) takes place in offshore

waters. At this time, the larvae are

subject to currents and may be transported considerable distances.

Recruitment of larvae back into

coastal waters occurs during the

megalopal stage. Oesterling and Evink

(1977) proposed a mechanism for larval

dispersal in northeastern gulf waters

in which blue crab larvae were transported distances of 300 km or more.

If such transport mechanisms do exist

in the gulf, larvae produced by spawning females in one State may in fact

be responsible for recruitment in

adjoining States.

Juveniles

Recruitment of blue crabs to gulf

estuaries occurs during the megalopal

stage (More 1969, King 1971, Perry

1975, Perry and Stuck 1982b). The

relationship between numbers of

megalopae recruited and subsequent

abundance of juvenile crabs is not

well defined. Perry and Stuck (1982b)

noted that large catches of blue crab

megalopae in August and September were

usually followed by an increased catch

of juvenile crabs (10.0 to 19.9 mm) in

October or November in Mississippi

estuaries; however, inconsistencies

between recruitment of megalopae and

subsequent occurrence and abundance

of juveniles were noted in the spring

and summer in their samples. King

(1971) found comparable population

densities of iuveniles between 2

,years though recruitment was markedly

different. Interpretation of his data

is somewhat complicated by the

taxonomic problems associated with the

5
separation of C. sapidus and C.

similis megalopae.

Juvenile blue crabs show wide

seasonal and area1 distribution in

gulf estuaries. Livingston et al.

(1976) found maximum numbers of blue

crabs in Apalachicola Bay, Florida,

in the winter and summer, noting that

an almost "continuous succession" of

juvenile crabs entered the sampling

area during the year. Perry (1975)

and Perry and Stuck (1982b) found

first crab stages in all seasons,

indicating continual recruitment to

the juvenile population a

Mississippi. In Lake PontchartraiAn

Louisiana, Darnell (1959) noted thai

recruitment of juvenile crabs was

highest in the late spring-early

summer and in the fall.

Although juvenile crabs occur over

a broad range of salinities, they

are most abundant in low to intermediate salinities characteristic of

middle and upper estuarine waters.

Using temperature-salinity matrices,

Swingle (1971), Perret et al.

(1971), Christmas and Langley (1973),

and Perry and Stuck (1982b) determined

the distribution of blue crabs

(primarily juveniles). Perret et al.

(1971) and Swingle (1971) found

maximum abundance in salinities below

5.0 ppt (Table 1). In contrast,

Christmas and Langley (1973) and Perry

and Stuck (1982b) found highest

average catches associated with

salinities above 14.9 ppt in

Mississippi (Table 1). From 1 year

of bag seine data, Hammerschmidt

(1982) found no direct relationship

between catches of juvenile crabs

and salinity in Texas. Although

salinity influences distribution,

factors such as bottom type and food

availability also play a role in

determining distributional patterns of

juvenile blue crabs.

The importance of bottom type in

the distribution of juvenile blue

crabs is well established. More

[NL;i, Holland et al. (197_l), Adkins

Perry (1975), Livingston et

al. (1976), and Perry and Stuck

(1982b) all noted the association of

juvenile blue crabs with soft, mud

sediments. Evink (1976) collected the

greatest number of individuals and

biomass from mud bottoms and noted

that blue crab biomass appeared to be

determined by fauna1 food availability.

Adults

The ovarian stages described by

Hard (1942) were used by Perry (1975)

to define the reproductive state of

blue crab populations in Mississippi.

Recently mated females (Stage I) and

crabs with developing ovaries (Stage

Table 1. Distribution of the blue crab by salinity intervals of 5 ppt showing

number of samples (below) and catch per sample (above).

..- _______-_______ __- - _.___.__._..._ --_..____I_ --- __

____._....-....__.__-.-------. _____. Salinity(_ppt) ~-- -

0.0-4.9 s.ti-9.9 10.0-14.9 15.0-19.9 20.0-24.9 25.0-29.9 30+ Total

--___ - - _-- - -_- --- -

Modified from:

Perret et al. 1971 6

(263)

Christmas and

Langley 1973

Perry and Stuck

1982b

1.2 2.7 3.8 4.1 2.2 0.9 2.6

(134) (07) (110) (145) (169) (74) (818)

7.6 7.1 8.3 5.9 3.0 2.7 6.3

(561) ((87) (520) (517) (489) (257) (3,249)

-1

d

6
II) were observed in the spring,

summer, and fall. Females with mature

ovaries (Stage III) occurred throughout the year. The appearance of

berried females (Stage IV) in March

and April indicated that overwintering

Stage III females spawned when water

temperatures began to rise in the

spring. Stage IV crabs were most

abundant during the middle and late

summer, corresponding with the influx

of "gulf" crabs from offshore waters.

Stage V crabs (repeat spawners)

appeared during the summer, providing

evidence that some females do spawn

twice.

There is a differential distribution of male and female crabs in

relation to salinity (Churchill 1921,

Gunter 1950, Darnell 1959, Perry

1975). Adult males tend to remain in

low salinity waters while mature

females prefer the higher salinities

of the lower estuary and adjacent

marine waters.

Churchill (1921) noted that

the maximum age for blue crabs in

Chesapeake Bay was about 3 years.

Tagatz (1968a) reported that the

maximum age of blue crabs in the

St. Johns River, Florida, was 4 years

but noted that few crabs survive past

2 years of age.

Migrations

Movements of blue crabs within

estuarine systems are related to life

cycle stages, season, and environmental conditions (Van Den Avyle and

Fowler 1984).

Migrations of females are usually

associated with mating and gonadal

maturation and spawning.

The migration patterns of blue crabs

in the gulf observed by More (1969)

and Perry (1975) were typical of the

onshore/offshore movements characterized in previous studies (Fiedler

1930, Van Engel 1958, Fischler and

Walburg 1962, Tagatz 1968a, Judy and

Dudley 1970). Oesterling and Evink

(1977) and Steele (1984) provided

evidence of an alongshore movement of

females in Florida coastal waters.

Migratory patterns observed in their

studies demonstrated movement of

females to sites north of their

mating estuary. Oesterling and Evink

(1977) noted that the Apalachicola Bay

region appeared to be a primary

spawning ground for crabs along the

Florida peninsular gulf coast.

Steele (1984) reported that the

concentration of migratory females

in the Apalachicola Bay area was the

result of a salinity barrier created

by outflow from the Apalachicola

River. A hypothesis for redistribution of larvae to southwestern Florida

involved transport of zoeae in surface

currents associated with Apalachicola

River flow and the Gulf of Mexico Loop

Current.

GROWTH

Newcombe et al. (1949) estimated

the number of postlarval instars for

male and female blue crabs to be 20

and 18, respectively. If the number

of molts is assumed to be fixed in

blue crabs (Newcombe et al. 1949,

Van Engel 1958), the variability in

the average size at which maturity

is attained in the female, coupled

with the observations that unusually

large blue crabs are found in low

salinities, suggests that environmental conditions influence the

percentage increase in size per molt.

Blue crabs i n Chincoteague,

Chesapeake, and Delaware Bays increase

in size with decreasing environmental

salinity (Porter 1955, Cargo 1958).

The data of Newcombe (1945), Van Engel

(1958), and Tagatz (1965, 1968a) also

suggest a possible negative correlation of size with the salinity of the

water . which growth

Van Enge:n (1958) believed thzcUFEe

osmoregulatory mechanism was involved;

differences in the levels of salt

concentration between the crabs and

their environment affected the uptake

of water, resulting in increased

7
growth per molt. Haefner and Shuster

(1964), in a study of the growth

increments occurring during the

terminal molt of the female blue crab

under different salinities, concluded

that "within the parameters of the

experiment, the salinity variation of

the environment is not related to

percentage increase in length at the

terminal molt." Tagatz (1968b) also

reported that a decrease in salinity

did not produce an increase in size

and suggested that some factor other

than salinity appeared to account

for larger crabs in certain waters.

Growth of blue crabs is strongly

affected by temperature. One of the

more obvious effects of temperature

on growth rate is the length of time

required for crabs to reach maturity.

Up to 18 months is necessary for

maturation in Chesapeake Bay

(Van Engel 1958), while blue crabs

in the Gulf of Mexico may reach

maturity within a year (Perry 1975,

Tatum 1980).

In the laboratory, Leffler (1972)

demonstrated that the molting rate

(molts per unit of time) increased

rapidly with increasing temperature

from 13.0 to 27.0 OC. This increase

continued at a slower rate between

27.0 and 34.0 OC and growth virtually

ceased at temperatures below 13.0 OC.

The growth per molt was significantly

reduced above 20.0 OC. Thus, while

the molting rate increased with

temperature, the number of molts

necessary to attain a certain size

also increased. If the maximum size

a blue crab attains is assumed to

reflect the growth per molt rather

than the number of molts, environmental temperatures may, in part, be

responsible for the variation in size

at maturity.

Perry (1975) estimated growth by

tracing modal progressions in monthly

width-frequency distributions for

crabs in Mississippi Sound. The

estimated growth rate of 24 to 25 mm/

month is somewhat higher than rates

found in other gulf estuaries. Adkins

(1972) found growth in Louisiana

waters. to be approximately 14 .mm/

month for young crabs, with slightly

higher rates (15 to 20 mm/month) as

crabs exceeded 85.0 mm in carapace

width. Darnell's (1959) growth estimate of 16.7 mm/month for crabs in

Lake Pontchartrain falls within the

average reported by Adkins. More

(1969) noted a growth rate of 15.3

to 18.5 mm/month in Texas. Plotting

the progression of modal groups from

February through August, Hammerschmidt

(1982) reported higher growth rates

for crabs in Texas (21.4 and 25.2 mm/

month for seine and trawl samples,

respectively) and attributed these

rates to the use of seasonal rather

than yearly data. Tatum (1980) found

seasonal changes in the rate of

growth of young blue crabs in Mobile

Bay, Alabama. He observed monthly

rates of 19.0, 10.0, and 5.0 mm for

crabs recruited in April, August, and

December, respectively.

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Blue crabs feed on various

crustaceans, molluscs, fish, detritus,

and on other blue crabs. They are

usually characterized as opportunistic

benthic omnivores.

Young and adult blue crabs occur

in estuarine waters throughout the

year and are important prey species

for a variety of organisms. Many

species of birds, including herons

and diving ducks, feed on blue crabs.

Mammalian predators include humans and

the raccoon. Fish species feeding on

blue crabs include spotted seatrout,

red drum, black drum, croaker, gars,

sheepshead, and freshwater and saltwater catfish.
b

THE FISHERY

Commercial Harvest

Annual commercial landings of blue

crabs from the Gulf of Mexico have

been reported since 1880 (Table 2).

Variations in the abundance of crabs

due to environmental factors and

disease, use of more efficient gear,

increased fishing effort, and the

economic condition of the market are

reflected in historical catches of

blue crabs. The fishery ’

Mississippi and Alabama has be::

relatively stable; each state reported

from 1.1 million to 2.7 million lb

annually. Louisiana continues to be

the largest producer in the gulf,

supplying raw product to Texas,

Mississippi, and Alabama processing

plants. Landings for Louisiana have

fluctuated widely although reported

landings from 1975 to 1980 have not

approached the 1973 landings of 23

million lb. Florida gulf coast

landings have remained relatively

stable at 13 million lb after

declining from 21 million lb in

1965 to 9 million lb in 1968.

Landings in Texas approached 9 million

lb in 1980. The percentage contributions of each State to the total

Gulf of Mexico blue crab landings from

1960-1980 are shown in Table 3; the

gulf coast of Florida and Louisiana

have contributed the highest percentage since 1960. The percentage

contributions of gulf landings to

total U.S. landings (1960-80) are

shown in Table 4.

Seasonal fluctuations in reported

commercial landings are similar among

all the Gulf States (Figure 4). ComTable 2. Historical commercial landing statistics by State for hard shell blue

crab, 1880-1980, in thousands of pounds and thousands of dollars (from Perry et

al. 1984).

b

Florida

west coast Alabama

Year Quantity Value Quantity Value

Mississippi

Quantity Value

Louisiana

Quantity Value

Texas Total

Quantity Value Quantity Value

1880

1887

1888

1889

1890

1891

1892

1895

1897

1898

1899

1901

1902

1904

1905

1908

1915

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

(2)

3

_

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

6

(2)

(2)

(2)

1

(2)

(2)

2

(2)

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

12

_

(2)

(1)

_

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

(1)

(2)

(2)

(2)

(1)

(2)

(2)

(1)

(2)

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

_

(2)

(2)

(2)

1

_

(2)

96

(2)

6

_ _

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

24 1

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

75 2

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

246 6

(2) (2)

96 3

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

84 3

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

32 1

_

38

16

48

33

(2)

(2)

(2)

132

(2)

(2)

(2)

235

(2)

(2)

380

(2)

216

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

435

(2)

(2)

(2)

2.426

_

1

(1)

1

1

(2)

(2)

(2)

3

(2)

(2)

(2)

5

(2)

(2)

10

(2)

m6

(2)

(2)

(2)

11

(2)

(2)

(2)

62

9

288 7

837 13

851 13

842 14

851 13

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

1,459 13

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

312 16

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

244 8

(2) (2)

282 10

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

312 8

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

(2) (2)

1.091 51

36 1 324 8

111 4 (2) (2)

115 4 1,081 23

189 5 1,079 20

191 5 1,075 19

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

138 4 759 21

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

43 2 1,666 25

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

199 5 1,071 29

(2) (2) (2) (2)

193 11 787 30

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

109 9 940 31

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2) (2)

121 9 3,682 124
Table 2. (Continued).

Florida

West Coast Alabama

Year Quantity Value Quantity Value

Mississippi Louisiana Texas Total

Quaky Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value

1928 7 1 JO2 4 1,518 40 2,320

1929 2 (1) 103 3 1,247 33 2,675

1930 4 (1) 80 1 673 11 4,186

1931 4 (1) 78 1 454 7 4,985

1932 4 (1) 70 1 320 5 5,878

1933 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1934 49 1 257 4 603 7 11,676

1935 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1936 821 12 997 14 2,011 30 12,576

1937 775 12 756 11 1,435 25 14,717

1938 1,104 16 511 8 1,016 17 10,533

1939 722 11 558 8 1,469 25 11,228

1940 1,170 16 1,381 28 1,488 26 14,062

1941 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1942 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1943 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1944 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1945 1,092 54 2,207 110 5,639 282 3 1,280

1946 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1947 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)

1948 (2) (2) 2,373 119 5,503 215 21,110

1949 2,056 91 2,128 106 4,163 208 17,874

1950 684 27 599 26 4,040 202 13,106

1951 2,076 83 1,109 46 1,623 82 8,710

1952 1,984 89 655 39 1,726 86 7,334

1953 3,153 126 1,087 54 1,412 71 8,131

1954 2,903 145 972 49 1,256 68 7,085

1955 4,954 248 1,613 81 1,763 88 lo,81 1

1956 3,728 180 725 36 1,979 99 9,402

1957 5,302 318 1,462 73 2,400 144 8,559

1958 8,693 461 1,182 56 2,124 123 9,336

1959 13,895 681 1,093 57 3,003 165 9,570

19b0 18,648 895 499 26 2,812 169 10,050

1961 17,130 136 838 46 2,505 143 11,910

1962 10,356 487 634 35 907 55 9,523

1963 13,148 644 1,297 75 1,112 64 7,982

1964 14,068 843 1,762 110 1,286 82 5,692

1965 20,598 1,185 1,812 153 1,692 131 9,284

1966 16,547 912 2,183 182 1,457 105 7,986

1967 13,976 817 2,353 188 1,015 79 7,559

1968 9,008 674 1,980 159 1,136 108 9,551

1969 11,584 1,074 1,920 223 1,740 177 11,602

1970 14,786 1,076 1,407 144 2,027 193 10,254

1971 12,279 952 1,997 212 1,259 126 12,186

1972 10,673 959 1,613 195 1,362 169 15,083

1973 9,599 1,147 2,098 294 1,815 231 23,080

1974 10,134 1,280 1,826 284 1,667 227 20,640

1975 12,807 1,585 1,640 283 1,137 177 17,144

1976 12,048 1,966 1,299 281 1,335 268 15,211

1977 15,832 3,119 2,174 548 1,919 473 16,379

1978 11,679 2,235 2,009 458 1,940 423 15,207

1979 11,198 2,235 1,314 383 1,311 316 17,370

78

78

63

53

c25,7

164

(2)

168

195

106

129

172

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

1,418

(2)

(2)

608

555

599

461

314

333

294

449

433

419

402

461

497

514

463

447

379

635

537

520

807

1,072

928

1,256

1,777

2,811

2,701

2,510

3,061

3,765

3,189

3,885

300 12 4,241

163 I1 4,190

29 1 4,972

49 1 5,570

45 1 6,317

(2) (2) (2)

258 13 12,843

(2) (2) (2)

320 8 16,725

922 24 18,605

971 24 14,135

406 8 14,383

252 6 18,353

(2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2)

339 39 40,557

(2) (2) (2)

(2) (2) (2)

526 34 (2)

374 22 26,595

387 30 18,816

280 24 13,798

338 24 12,037

432 39 14,215

379 26 12,595

356 29 19,497

195 20 16,029

201 11 17,924

570 51 21,905

1,192 75 28,753

2,867 177 34,876

2,875 178 35,258

4,473 289 25,893

2,980 199 26,519

2,484 175 25,292

3,622 286 37,008

2,778 228 30,951

2,625 222 27,528

4,084 329 25,759

6,343 599 33,189

5,525 509 33,999

5,810 567 33,531

6,464 653 35,195

6,881 830 43,473

6,088 832 40,355

5,992 948 38,720

6,668 1,179 36,561

8,249 1,947 44,553

7,470 2,004 38,305

8,312 2,146 39,505

1980 11,263 2,392 1,557 464 2,748 690 16,342 3,874 8,953 2,456 40,863

(1) - less than 500 pounds or $500.00.

(2) - data not available.

135

125

76

62

64

(2)

189

(2)

232

267

171

181

248

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

1,903

(2)

(2)

(2)

982

884

696

552

623

582

895

768

965

1,083

1,439

1,764

1,617

1,329

1,429

1,589

2,390

1,964

1,826

2,077

3,145

2,850

3,113

3,753

5,313

5,324

5,503

6,755

9,852

8,309

8,965

9,876

1 0
Table 3. Percent contribution by State to total gulf landings of blue crab

1960-80.

Year

Floridawest coast Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas

SL

1960 53.5

1961 48.6

1962 40.0

1963 49.6

1964 55.6

1965 55.7

1966 53.5

1967 50.8

1968 35.0

1969 34.9

1970 43.5

1971 36.6

1972 30.3

1973 22.1

1974 25.1

1975 33.1

1976 33.0

1977 35.5

1978 30.5

1979 28.3

1980 27.6

1.4

2.4

2.4

4.9

7.0

4.9

;.:

7:7

5.8

4.1

6.0

4.6

4.8

4.5

4.2

3.6

4.9

E

3:8

8.1

7.1

3.5

4.2

5.1

t.;

3:7

4.4

5.2

6.0

3.8

3.9

4.2

4.1

2.9

3.7

4.3

5.1

3.3

6.7

28.8 8.2

33.8 8.2

36.8 17.3

30.1 11.2

22.5 9.8

25.1 9.8

25.8 9.0

27.5 9.5

37.1 15.9

35.0 19.1

30.2 16.3

36.3 17.3

42.9 18.4

53.1 15.8

51.1 15.1

44.3 15.5

41.6 18.2

36.8 18.5

39.7 19.5

44.0 21.0

40.0 21.9

mercial crabbing generally begins in

March or April as water temperatures

rise above 15 OC. Greatest commercial

catches usually occur from May through

August with June or July as peak

months. Reported landings then begin

to decline along with water temperature. These general trends may shift

slightly from month to month,

depending upon prevailing environmental and/or market conditions.

Dominant commercial gear types used

to harvest hard blue crabs in the gulf

are trawls, trotlines and crab pots.

Use of pots has increased greatly

since 1948, while use of trotlines has

declined.

Recreational Harvest

Accurate data on the recreational

catch of crabs in the gulf are

lacking. The sport fishery is thought

to contribute significantly to total

fishing pressure, though estimates of

the impact of recreational fishing on

the resource vary widely.

Tatum (1982) conservatively

estimated that the recreational catch

in Alabama equaled approximately 20%

of the annual commercial catch. From

interviews with 810 sports fishermen

.

the Mississippi coastal

Airring and Christmas (1974) estifiF$

a recreational catch of 50,000 lb

of hard crabs in 1971. Compared to

commercial landings of 1,259,230

lb for that year, the sports catch

represented less than 4% of the total.

Data from a recreational survey of

Galveston Bay,.Texas, produced similar

results. Benefield (1968) estimated

b 1 1
6.

?-

6-

5-

”

l,,,l,,~l.,.1,,,l,.~l~.~l~~.l~~.l~.~l~~~r IQ70 1971 1872 1973 1974 1975 1978 1977 1978 1979 1980

Years (by quarters)

Figure 4. Seasonal blue crab landings by State, 1970-80 (Perry et al. 1984).

the recreational catch of blue crabs

from Galveston Bay to be 33,125 lb

or 5.9% of the commercial harvest from

that area.

In Louisiana the sport fishery

landings were estimated to exceed the

commercial fishery landings by almost

four times. On the basis of a sport

crab survey conducted by the Bureau of

Sports Fisheries and Wildlife in 1968,

the estimated recreational catch of

blue crabs in Louisiana was 29 million

lb (Linda11 and Hall 1970), compared

to commercial hard and soft crab reported landings of 9.5 million lb

and 284,000 lb, respectively. Total

commercial gulf landings of hard crabs

for the survey period were 25.7

million lb; thus, the estimated

recreational catch in Louisiana alone

exceeded the reported commercial hard

crab landings from all Gulf States in

1968. These data emphasize the need

for accurate recreational catch

statistics in order to estimate total

production.

Incidental Harvest

In addition to the commercial and

recreational hard and soft crab

fisheries, large numbers of crabs are

harvested as "by-catch" in other

fisheries. Adkins (1972) noted that

commercial shrimp fishermen in

Louisiana "eat, give away, swap for

supplies or sell many of the crabs

they catch while trawling for shrimp."

Adkins (1972) also reported that

during the late fall and winter, crabs

are frequently taken in shrimp trawls

following strong cold fronts. He

noted that one shrimper, trawling in

the mouth of a deep bayou, caught

8,000 to 9,000 lb of crabp in a

single day. These crabs were sold but

4

12 d
Table 4. Percent contribution of gulf

landings of blue crab to total U.S.

blue crab landings.

Year Percent

1960 23.3

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

23.9

17.3

18.7

16.6

22.2

18.6

19.0

22.7

25.1

23.4

22.5

23.9

31.8

27.1

30.0

32.3

34.6

27.7

25.8

25.0

no record of the transaction was made.

Commercial and recreational butterfly

or wing net (paupier) fishermen also

harvest large numbers of crabs.

According to Adkins (1972) these

"paupier" crabs are "eaten, given to

friends, or sold, thus not entering

into commercial landings." Data on

incidental catch from other Gulf

States are lacking.

Factors Affecting Commercial Landings

According to Van Engel (1982),

fluctuations in Chesapeake Bay landings result primarily from variations

in year-class strength and distribution of the stock, both of which he

considered largely

density-independent

influenced by

environmental

variables. Using simple and multiple

correlation analyses to determine the

relationship between environmental

variables and subsequent harvest,

Van Engel and Harris (1979) found

that three parameters accounted for

86% of the variation in commercial

landings from September 1965 through

August 1975. These variables were

identified as the cooling degree days

at Norfolk, Virginia, in May of the

year of the hatch; meridional wind

stress off Delaware Bay in January

following the year of the hatch; and

an index of juvenile crab abundance

from the York River in fall of the

year of the hatch and in the following

spring and summer.

More (1969) listed changes in

recruitment to the fished population

and migrations to and from fishing

grounds as factors influencing landings in Galveston Bay, Texas. I n

Florida, Tagatz (1965) reported that

market conditions as well as crab

migrations and year-class strength

were influential in determining the

level of commercial catch. While

variations in year-class strength

undoubtedly influence commercial

harvest, the use of landings data as

an index of adult stock abundance may

be misleading.

The relationship between commercial landings (blue crabs, oysters,

penaeid shrimp) and long-term environmental factors was investigated by

Meeter et al. (1979) for the

Apalachicola Bay estuarine system in

Florida. They found that while there

were initial indications that longterm flow from the Apalachicola River

influenced annual commercial landings

of blue crabs from Franklin County,

when catch data from other species

were partialled out, river flow

explained very little of the annual

variation in blue crab harvest. The

authors suggested that unidentified

socioeconomic variables and individual

species strategies relative to shortand long-term climatic changes may in

part be responsible for the lower "r"

values observed with partial correlation analysis. According to Lyles

(1976), fluctuations in the commercial

catch of blue crabs appear to be

13
governed more by economic conditions

than by a scarcity of crabs. Moss

(1981) noted that landings do not

necessarily reflect populations, but

may only reflect economic fluctuations.

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Both density-independent and

density-dependent variables operate

to influence larval and juvenile

population levels. The vulnerability

of blue crabs to changing environmental conditions is perhaps greatest

during the larval and juvenile stages.

While current and past crab research

has emphasized the role of the nursery

area as a limiting factor in determining the success of a year-class or

modal group, conditions that affect

the initial movement of larvae and

postlarvae toward the estuary must

also be considered. The differential

distribution of early and late stage

zoeae, though it helps assure mixing

of populations, subjects recruitment

to the vagaries of offshore transport.

The role that offshore recruitment

plays in determining levels of young

on estuarine nursery grounds is

currently under investigation.

Laboratory studies on Callinectes

larvae indicate that there is a

behavioral basis for the vertical

distribution of blue crab zoeae.

According to Sulkin (1981), "experiments indicate that during the course

of blue crab zoeal development changes

occur in critical behavioral responses

which, through ontogeny, produce a

characteristic pattern of differential

vertical distribution." From these

observations he developed a dispersalbased recruitment model for the Middle

Atlantic Bight which included

mechanisms for both the estuarine

retention of larvae and the recruitment of larvae from offshore. He

noted that significant retention of

larvae is most likely to occur in

stratified estuaries which are wide

with respect to depth near the mouth.

In such an estuary, larvae released

at a depth below the pycnocline would

be retained. Most field data indicate, however, that 5. sapidus larvae

are released to surface waters and,

consequently, transported offshore.

As these zoeae progress in their

development, they move to deeper

waters which have pronounced landward

drift. This drift concentrates latestage zoeae and megalopae near the

mouths of estuaries. The literature

indicates that recruitment to the

estuary occurs in the megalopal stage

(Tagatz 1968a, More, 1969, King 1971,

Perry 1975). The Sulkin (1981) model

predicts that for large, stratified

estuaries, there is a low but stable

base-level of recruitment via retention that is augmented by a highly

variable degree of recruitment

from offshore; it is the level of

this offshore recruitment that is

responsible for the annual variations

in recruitment success. In smaller

estuaries that are stratified aperiodically, or in which stratification

is less stable, blue crab recruitment

would be more sensitive to the uncertainties of the offshore larval pool

and recruitment would be more variable. Mechanisms of larval transport

and the effects of changing environmental conditions on survival of

larvae in the Gulf of Mexico are

aspects of the life history of blue

crabs that have received little

attention from biologists.

Once the megalopae have reached

the estuary, the major concerns for

survival are related to maintenance of

adequate habitat and favorable environmental conditions on the nursery

grounds.

Variations in salinity, temperature, pollutants, predation, disease,

habitat loss, and food availability

all affect survival. The diversity of

these parameters and their possible

synergistic effects make precise

identification of the influence of

specific variables difficult. Additionally, the effects of variables

14
b such as salinity may be intrinsic

(physiological) or extrinsic

(affecting the composition of the

biotic environment). Van Engel (1982)

suggested that temperature, salinity,

and substratum are the primary factors

affecting growth, survival, and distribution of blue crabs in Chesapeake

Bay. Salinity has been identified as

a determinant affecting blue crab

abundance in Texas bays (Hoese 1960,

More 1969). More (1969) found an

inverse relationship between salinity

and the abundance of juvenile crabs

and noted that low crab stocks on the

lower Texas coast from 1963 to 1965

were associated with drought conditions. In contrast, Livingston et

al. (1976) noted that temperature and

salinity might not be as critical in

the determination of estuarine population levels as are biological parameters. They observed that biological

parameters related to trophic

phenomena may play an important role

in estuarine population shifts.

k

Blue crab mortalities associated

with chemical and biological pollutants, sediment, temperature,

salinity, and dissolved oxygen were

discussed by Van Engel (1982). One

of the most serious incidences of

chemical pollution affecting the blue

crab fishery occurred in Virginia and

was associated with the release of

the chlorinated hydrocarbon Kepone

into the James River from the late

1950's to late 1975. Closure of the

river to commercial fishing had a

severe negative effect on the industry

throughout the Chesapeake Bay. The

annual mortality of young and adult

blue crabs due to exposure to Kepone

remains unknown; however, both commercial landings and juvenile crab

abundance have been lower in the James

than in the York or Rappahannock

Rivers for the past 15 years

(Van En el

reporte %

1982). Lowe et al. (1971)

Mirex (closely related to

Kepone) to be toxic to blue crabs

either as a contact or stomach poison.

Low levels of dissolved oxygen

not only cause mortality of blue crabs

but also impede migration. Death in

crab traps due to anoxia is a serious

problem in many areas. Tatum (1982)

reported that oxygen-deficient bottom

waters covered as much as 44% of

Mobile Bay, Alabama, in the summer

of 1971, with some area fishermen

reporting that as much as 75% of

their catch was dead. Low levels of

dissolved oxygen in the deeper waters

of Chesapeake Bay and associated

tributaries during the summer months

have also been

death.

implicated in trap

Periodic kills of blue crabs

following excessive freshwater runoff

and the subsequent depletion of oxygen

due to rapid decomposition of organic

matter were

(1982).

reported by Van Engel

Other mortalities of blue crabs

have been related to extreme cold or

to sudden drops in temperature (Gunter

and Hildebrand 1951, Van Engel 1978

cited by Rhodes and Bishop 1979,

Van Engel 1982, Couch and Martin

1982) and to red tides (Wardle et al.

1975, Gunter and Lyles 1979).

Mass mortalities of blue crabs

occurred *

North Caroli;:,

South Carolina,

and Georgia in June

1966 and in South Carolina and Georgia

in June 1967. While the pathoaenic

amoeba (Paramoeba pernici'osa) _ was

alluded to as a possible cause of the

mortalities, there was some implication that pesticides may have been

involved. According to Newman and

Ward (1973), blue crab mortalities of

greater and lesser magnitude have

occurred during May and June with

Paramoeba involved in the majority of

the kills that were investigated.

Large numbers of dead crabs have

periodically littered the beaches of

Louisiana (Adkins 1972) and Mississippi (Perry 1975). The vast majority

of these crabs were heavily fouled,

spent females.

15

L

LITERATURE

Adkins, G. 1972. A study of the blue

crab fishery in Louisiana. La.

Wildl. Fish. Comm. Tech. Bull.

3:1-57.

Andryszak, B. L. 1979. Abundance,

distribution and partial descriptions of reotant decapod crustacean

larvae coilected from neritic

Louisiana waters in July, 1976.

Master's Thesis. Louisiana State

University, Baton Rouge. 102 pp.

Benefield, R. L. 1968. Survey of the

blue crab (Callinectes sapidus

Rathbun) sport fisherv of the

Galveston Bay system 1968. Tex.

Parks Wildl., Coastal Fish. Proj.

Rep. 1968:35-44.

Bookhout, C. G., and J. D. Costlow,

Jr. 1977. Larval development of

Callinectes similis reared in the

laboratory. Bull. Mar. Sci. 27:704-

728.

Cargo, D. G. 1958. Sizes of crabs

compared. Maryland Tidewater

News 13(3):1-4.

Christmas, J. Y., Jr. and W. Langley.

1973. Estuarine invertebrates,

Mississippi. Pages 255-317 -

J. Y. Christmas, Jr., ed. Gulf 3

Mexico Estuarine Inventory and

Study, Mississippi. Gulf Coast

Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs,

Miss.

Churchill, E. P., Jr. 1921. Life

history of the blue crab. Bull.

U. S. Bur. Fish. 36:95-128.

CITED

Costlow, J. D., Jr., and C. G.

Bookhout. 1959. The larval development of Callinectes sapidus

Rathbun reared in the laboratory.

Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 116(3):

373-396.

Couch, J. A., and S. Martin. 1982.

Protozoan symbionts and related

diseases of the blue crab,

Callinectes sapidus Rathbun from

the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of

the United States. In: H. M.

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21
REPORT OOCUMENTATION 1. “LP~“~ ~0. 2 3. n=w*n(‘a *CC*s*IO” we.

PAGE Rinlnniral Rmwt 87111 Vi\

1. ntm wld subt%I~ 5. n*oor( oat*

SPECIES PROFILES: LIFE HISTORIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS OF June 1986

COASTAL FISHES AND INVER TEBRA TES (GULF 0~ MEXICO) -- BLUE C RAB 6.

1. hmodr~

H. M. Perry and T. D. McIlwain

D. tir(ormlns Orlpnlzptlon Upme pnd Addnsp

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

East Beach

Ocean Springs, MS 39564

It SwnwnnS OrspnIutlon Npmp .nd Addmsp (cl

National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Army Corps of Engineers It. TYfm at R*poR L ?wiad cormc

Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station

U.S. Department of the Interior P.O. Box 631

Washington, DC 20240 Vicksburg, MS 39180

=

14.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Report No. TR EL-82-4

Species profiles are summaries of the literature on taxonomy, morphology, range, life

history, and environmental requirements of coastal aquatic species. They are designed to

assist in environmental impact assessment. The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is common

in tidal marsh estuaries and coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, occupying a variety of

habitats depending upon the physiological requirements of each particular stage in its life

history. Spawning occurs from spring through fall in high salinity estuarine and/or

coastal waters. Development through the 7 zoeal stages requires approximately 31 days and

occurs offshore. The megalopal stage is usually completed within a week. Recruitment to

the estuary occurs during the megalopal stage. Molt to the first crab takes place within

the estuary. Juveniles exhibit wide seasonal and area1 distribution. Growth is rapid and

blue crabs in the Gulf of Mexico may reach maturity within a year. Factors affecting

growth and survival include food availability, predation, substratum, available habitat,

temperature, salinity and pollutants. Blue crabs do not conform to specific trophic levels

and are characterized as opportunistic benthic omnivores. Their diverse feeding habits and

their importance as prey species for a variety of organisms make them an integral Part Of

coastal ecosystems.

17. Doarm=* Anply%s . . owcnptpn

Estuaries Feeding habits

Fisheries Crabs Oxygen

Salinity Life cycles Contaminants

Temperature Growth

a td*ntlRW./Opw,.Ended lp,m,

Blue crab

Callinectes sapidus Temperature requirements

Salinity requirements Habitat requirements

19. Secuniy Cly (Th*s ft*wRl

Unclassified

20. Suurlty Clma pis Paa*)

Unclassified

w ANSI-239.10 OPTIONAL CORM 272 W-77)

(formrtf Nll5-3%

o.p.rtnmnt oi Comm.rc.
* Headquarters. Divsmn of Bv3logbcal

Serwces. Washmgton. DC

x Eastern Energy and Land Use Team

Leetown, WV

+ National Coastal Ecosystems Team

Slldell. LA

l Western Energy and Land Use Team

Ft Colhns. CO

+ Locations of Regmnal Offices

REGION 1

Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servtce

Lloyd Five Hundred Building, Suite 1692

500 N.E. Multnotnah Street

Portland, Oregon 97232

REGION 4

Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Richard B. Russell Building

75 Spring Street, S.W.

Atlanta, Georgia 30303

REGION 2 REGION 3

Regional Director Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

P.O. Box 1306 Federal Building, Fort Snelling

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87 I03 Twin Cities, Minnesota 55 I II

REGION 5

Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

One Gateway Center

Newton Corner, Massachusetts 02 158

REGION 6

Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

P.O. Box 25486

Denver Federal Center

Denver. Colorado 80225

REGION 7

Regional Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1011 E. Tudor Road

Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Y

TAKE PRIDE

in America

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. FISH AND WIlDLIFE SERVICE

As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes

fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,

preserving theenvironmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places,

and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in

the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for

American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under

U.S. administration.