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Animal Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2010

Fisheries Science Peer-Reviewed Articles

Marine Biology

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Observations Of Distribution, Size, And Sex Ratio Of Mature Blue Crabs, Callinectes Sapidus, From A Chesapeake Bay Tributary In Relation To Oyster Habitat And Environmental Factors, Jm Harding, R Mann Jan 2010

Observations Of Distribution, Size, And Sex Ratio Of Mature Blue Crabs, Callinectes Sapidus, From A Chesapeake Bay Tributary In Relation To Oyster Habitat And Environmental Factors, Jm Harding, R Mann

VIMS Articles

Blue crabs Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) > 100 mm carapace width were sampled from a constructed oyster reef (1996 and 1997), a sand bar (1997) and a natural oyster bar (1997) in the Piankatank River, Chesapeake Bay, USA to describe habitat use, sex ratios, and demographics across a gradient of habitat types. Patterns of blue crab catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE), and demographics were similar on the oyster reef in 1996 and 1997. Average annual CPUE on the reef was 6-8 crabs pot(-1) with maximum CPUE of 15 crabs pot(-1). Daylength and water temperature significantly affected reef CPUE with more crabs observed in late …


Bycatch Reduction Device Conserves Diamondback Terrapin Without Affecting Catch Of Blue Crab, Megan A. Rook, Rn Lipcius, Bret M. Bronner, Randolph Chambers Jan 2010

Bycatch Reduction Device Conserves Diamondback Terrapin Without Affecting Catch Of Blue Crab, Megan A. Rook, Rn Lipcius, Bret M. Bronner, Randolph Chambers

VIMS Articles

Bycatch mortality of non-target species in fisheries is a major threat to the conservation and restoration of marine and estuarine species. Attempts to reduce bycatch by fitting fishing gear with excluder devices have typically been met with resistance due to reductions in catch of target species. We examined the possibility that conservation and fishery goals could be met simultaneously. In lower Chesapeake Bay, we tested a mechanism for reducing bycatch of diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin in blue-crab traps without affecting crab catch. Over 23 sampling dates during summer 2008, we compared terrapin captures at 2 shallow-water sites typical of recreational …