The effect of temperature on release mortality of declawed &lt;I&gt;Menippe mercenaria&lt;/I&gt; in the Florida stone crab fishery

Gandy, Ryan L.; Crowley, Claire E.; Chagaris, David; Crawford, Charles R.

doi:10.5343/bms.2015.1036

Cited by 32 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…; Gerhart and Bert ), the large fishery harvest, and mortality associated with declawing in seasonally high temperatures (Gandy et al. ), negatively affects spawning females and their reproductive output. We found that females with no claws showed a reduction in batch fecundity, on average, of 39%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Gandy et al. ) and reduced reproductive output from declawing (Hogan and Griffen ; Duermit et al. ) may negatively and disproportionately affect females in southern regions compared with those in northern regions.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It has long been presumed that a legal crab can regenerate a lost limb and contribute to the fishery again in 2-3 years. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that mortality is higher than previously estimated, and few crabs contribute to the fishery a second time (Savage et al 1975;Wilber 1995;Gandy et al 2016;Duermit et al 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The fishery is closed throughout Florida from May 16 through October 14, so in south Florida spawning overlaps each fall with the beginning of the fishing season. The high percentage of fishery landings in south Florida combined with high predicted mortality (23-85%, depending on the severity of the break and number of claws removed) (Duermit et al 2015;Gandy et al 2016) and reduced reproductive output from declawing (Hogan and Griffen 2014;Duermit et al 2017) may negatively and disproportionately affect females in southern regions compared with those in northern regions.…”

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Fecundity Assessment of Stone Crabs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2019

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Accurate estimates of reproductive potential are a key component of any stock assessment. Multiple factors influencing the variability in batch fecundity of stone crabs Menippe spp. across the Florida fishery were quantified with a negative binomial regression model. Stone crabs were collected bimonthly from Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, Pavilion Key, and Sawyer Key from April 2013 through April 2015 for fecundity analysis. Batch fecundity (number of eggs per clutch) was estimated by using dry weights. Modeling results revealed that fecundity was strongly and positively related to carapace width and highly variable among locations, months, and years. Batch fecundity was lowest in spring and winter and highest in July and August, which agreed with the general understanding of seasonal patterns in crustacean reproductive cycles. Additionally, batch fecundity was 39% lower for crabs with no claws, indicating that claw removal by the fishery negatively affects reproductive output. Comparisons of estimates from a 1993–1995 fecundity study in Tampa Bay indicated that there was little difference in stone crab fecundity between individuals collected in 1993 and those collected in 2013. But this observed temporal pattern represents observations from only a small portion of the fished population and so may not fully reflect the temporal changes in fecundity occurring throughout the fishery. The present study quantified the spatial and temporal factors influencing variability in stone crab fecundity throughout the fished population of Florida. We hypothesize that spatial differences in food quality, food quantity, and fishing effort may be important drivers of variability in stone crab fecundity. Given the intense harvest and variability in reproductive output, further work should be dedicated to identifying critical spawning and recruitment areas, as well as assessments of their connectivity.

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Fecundity Assessment of Stone Crabs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2019

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“…) and the high mortality associated with declawing (Gandy et al. ). Our study shows that a higher proportion of smaller individuals may be contributing to the spawning population than had been previously estimated.…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of Maturity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Florida Stone Crab Menippe mercenaria Fishery

et al. 2018

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The Florida stone crab Menippe mercenaria supports one of Florida's most valuable commercial fisheries. Sustained fishing pressure and overexploitation, despite negative trends in landings, have facilitated the need to transition from stock assessments based on effort and landings toward more sophisticated methods. This requires accurate knowledge of life history parameters, such as size at sexual maturity. The physiological, behavioral, and functional maturity of female Florida stone crabs and the physiological maturity of male crabs were assessed in individuals collected throughout the geographically fished range of the population between 2013 and 2014. Morphological maturity of both sexes was assessed in individuals collected from the same locations in 2005–2016. Histology was used to determine oocyte maturity, presence of spermatophores, and presence of postovulatory follicles in females and the production of spermatophores (present in the anterior vas deferens) in males. Decision tree analysis determined that 50% of females were mature at 43 mm carapace width (CW) based on an indicator of physiological and behavioral sexual maturity. In males, physiological maturity occurred at a CW of 34.75 mm. Sexual maturity estimated using morphological maturity occurred at 66.3 mm CW in females and 63.1 mm CW in males. Differences in estimated size at sexual maturity between morphological maturity and physiological, behavioral, and functional maturity indicate that the relative growth of body parts is not reliable for estimating sexual maturity in Florida stone crabs. Smaller females may be contributing more to the spawning population than had been previously estimated. Large, morphometrically mature males may be more successful in mating encounters, but during times of flux in population size structure (i.e., fewer large males), morphologically immature but physiologically mature males have increased mating opportunities. Results indicate that male and female Florida stone crabs can contribute to the reproductive population multiple times before they become vulnerable to the fishery.

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Increasing the Selectivity of the Stone Crab Menippe mercenaria Trap by the Addition of a Cull Ring

Gandy

Crowley

Leone

et al. 2018

N American J Fish Manag

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The fishery for stone crab Menippe mercenaria in Florida is dominated by plastic traps that do not require a cull ring or device that limits retention of prerecruits and bycatch. An experiment was conducted to determine what size of cull ring would reduce the catch of prerecruit stone crabs and bycatch while maintaining legal catch. Catch compositions of crabs from unmodified plastic commercial stone crab traps and traps fitted with a 54.0-, 55.6-, or 57.2-mm cull ring were compared in the stone crab fishery across Florida's west coast. Traps outfitted with cull rings retained bigger crabs, less bycatch, and fewer prerecruit stone crabs and, for most cull ring sizes tested, yielded the same number of legal-size claws. Retention of prerecruit crabs in traps with cull rings varied among regions because of the sexual dimorphism in carapace length (males, 58.2 mm; females, 64.6 mm) observed when an original crusher claw has reached legal size (>70 mm). We recommend that a minimum size cull ring of 55.6-mm (2 3 ∕ 16 in) be used in stone crab traps fished in state and federal waters off Florida.

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The effect of temperature on release mortality of declawed <I>Menippe mercenaria</I> in the Florida stone crab fishery

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Fecundity Assessment of Stone Crabs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Fecundity Assessment of Stone Crabs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Assessment of Maturity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Florida Stone Crab Menippe mercenaria Fishery

Increasing the Selectivity of the Stone Crab Menippe mercenaria Trap by the Addition of a Cull Ring

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