Assessment of the Optimum Commercial Size of Red King Crab in the Barents Sea

Abstract

In order to assess the optimum red king crab's landing size in the Barents Sea, concept of maximum sustainable yield was chosen which could be reached at different levels of fisheries exploitation and values of the minimum landing size. At maximum allowable level of fisheries exploitation of 30% the optimum red king crab's landing size should be 170 mm in carapace width. Though this increase is reasonable only provided that economic indicator (cost of production) is included in calculation and set of assumptions on equilibrium state of «stockfishery» system is accepted, correlation stock-recruitment and traumatic mortality value are correctly chosen.

Fatty Acids in the Eggs of Red King Crabs from the Barents Sea

“…Given the tendency of fatty acid content to decrease during embryo development, as observed in other crab species, we can conclude that the harvest of red king crab females for high-quality eggs with high concentrations of essential fatty acids should be completed before October, when eggs of most females are at the late zoea stage. In Norway, the annual female quota for the 2023 fishery season is 120 t. Based on the mean weight of a female of 1550 g, the mean egg weight of 0.61 mg, and the mean weight of an egg clutch of 131.8 g, or 8.5% of the total female weight [57,65], we can estimate that Norwegian fishermen can receive 10.2 t of raw red king crab eggs.…”