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A Profile of the Blue Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 1984

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A Profile of the Blue Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 1984 A Profile of the BLUE CRAB FISHERY of the Gulf of Mexico \ Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Number9 October 1984 GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS ALABAMA Mr. Leroy Kiffe Mr. John W. (Toppy) Hodnett Route 1, Box 239 Alabama Department of Conservation and Lockport, LA 70374 Natural Resources 64 North Union Street Rep. Frank J. Patti Montgomery, AL 36104 Louisiana House of Representatives P.O. Box 53 Rep. Taylor F. Harper Belle Chasse, LA 70037 Alabama House of Representatives P.O. Box 229 MISSISSIPPI Grand Bay, AL 36541 Mr. Lon Strong Executive Director Mr. John Ray Nelson Mississippi Department of Wildlife Conservation Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. P.O. Box 451 P.O. Box 60 Jackson, MS 39205 ijon Secour, AL 36511 :~ep. Ted Millette FLORIDA Mississippi I louse or Rep1 l'\t"llt at IVl'' Dr. Elton J. Gissendanner Box I 177 Executive Director Pascagoula. MS _;<1',1i·.· Florida Department of Natural Resources 3900 Commonwealth Blvd. Mr. l lolt<111 D. 'I 11111!Hn11.•li Tallahassee, FL 32303 W<;lll· l{;1d1(l S1;1111111 P 0. Box 78'1 Rep. Sam Mitchell (;ullpo1t, MS \'h()\ Florida House of Representatives P.O. Box 299 TEXAS Chipley, FL 32428 M1. Chailes D. I 1av1,, I· \<'c 11t1vc 1>11n·tor Texas Parks and Wildl1k Mr. Clyde Richbourg 4200 Smith Schrnil R<>ad 208 Norwich Drive Austin. TX 7874·1 Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 Sen. H. Tati Sa11ticstcha11 LOUISIANA Texas Senate Mr. J. Burton Angelle 747 East San Antonio. Suite I 00 Ex~cutive Secretary El Paso, TX 7990 I Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Mr. Leslie E. Casterline, Jr. P.O. Box 15570 P.O. Box 249 Baton Rouge, LA 70895 Fulton, TX 78358 STAFF I ;111 y B. Simpson, Executive Director Lucia B. O'Toole, Publication Specialist \'11gi11ia K. Herring, Executive Assistant Mary A. Crosby, Staff Assistant Nikki W. Bane, SEAMAP Coordinator A PROFILE OF THE BLUE CRAB FISHERY .. oF THE GULF OF MEXICO (Completion Report Contract No. 000-010) Harriet M. Perry, Editor by Harriet M. Perry Steve Heath Gerald Adkins J. R. Herring Richard Condrey Charles Moss Paul C. Hammerschmidt Garey Perkins Phil Steele Published by GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION P.O. Box 726 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 This study was supported in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, under State/Federal Project Numbers SF-5-1 and SF-25-L BLUE CRAB FISHERY PROFILE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Harriet M. Perry, Chairman Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 Gerald Adkins J. R. Herring Louisiana Department of Wildlife Mississippi Bureau of Marine Resources and Fisheries P.O. Drawer 959 P.O. Box 188 Long Beach, Mississippi 39560 Bourg, Louisiana 70343 Charles Moss Richard Condrey Texas Agricultural Extension Service - Marine Agent Center for Wetland Resources Texas A&M University Louisiana State University Route 2, Armory Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 Angleton, Texas 77515 Paul C. Hammerschmidt Garey Perkins Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Food and Fiber Center Route 1, Box 368 Box 5426 Seadrift, Texas 77983 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, Mississippi 397 62 Steve Heath Alabama Department of Conservation Phil Steele and Natural Resources Florida Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 189 100 8th Ave., SE Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Appreciation is extended to Lucia O'Toole, formerly of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL), for typing the manuscript; to Dottie Neely, publications specialist, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, for typesetting and formatting the camera­ ready copy; to Sharon Wilson for proofing the final copy; and a special thanks to Charles Lyles, past director of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, for his guidance and support in the early development of this Profile. Illustrations were prepared by Linda Paulson and Beryl Heard of GCRL and Don Watson, a former employee. Others instrumental in the preparation of this volume include Larry Simpson, Director of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and Dennis Chew of the Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. Finally, we are grateful to C. E. Bryan, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and to W. A. Van Engel and Robert Harris of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science for their critical review of this manuscript. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................... 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCE . 3 2.1 Zoogeographic Distribution . 3 2.2 Life History . 14 2.2.1 Spawning . 14 2.2.2 Larval Distribution and Abundance . 14 2.2.3 Juvenile Distribution and Abundance . 15 2.2.4 Growth . 15 2.2.5 Trophic Relationships . 16 2.2.6 Parasites and Disease . 18 2.2.7 Migration ..................... , . 20 2.2.8 Mortalities. 20 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY ..........•................................... 21 3.1 Development of the Hard Crab Fishery . 21 3 .1.1 Mississippi . 21 3.1.2 Florida ............................................................ 21 3 .1.3 Alabama . 21 3.1.4 Louisiana .......................................................... 22 3.1.5 Texas ............................................................. 22 3 .1.6 Regulatory Responsibility . 22 3.1.7 Gear ....... ·....................................................... 23 3.2 Development of the Soft Crab Fishery . 25 3 .3 Harvesting - Hard Crab Fishery . 25 3.3.1 Trends in Landings by Year and State. 25 3.3.2 Seasonal Landings by State. 25 3 .3.3 Percent Contributions - States to Gulf Landings and Gulf to United States Landings . 28 3 .3 .4 Trends in Landings by Gear . 28 3.4 Harvesting - Soft Crab Fishery . .. 30 3.4.1 Harvesting Techniques, Landings, Value and Number of Fishermen by Gear . 30 3.4.2 Shedding Techniques. 30 3.4.3 Landings . 32 3.5 Recreational Fishery . 32 3.5 .1 Gear . 3 2 3.5.2 Landings ........................................................... 32 3 .6 Incidental Catch . 40 4. SOCIO-ECONOMICS . 41 4.1 Regional Landings, Ex-vessel Value and Price per Pound ................................ 41 4.2 Ex-vessel Value Trends . • . 42 4.2.l Statistical Analyses of Crab Prices . 45 4.3 Harvesting Sector . 47 4.3.1 Economic Interdependencies . 4 7 4.3.2 Harvesting Costs . 48 4.4. Processing Sector . 49 4.4.1 Processing Schemes . 49 4.4.2 Methods of Cooking . 49 4.4.3 Methods of Preservation ................................................. 52 4.4.4 Production Costs . 5 5 4.4.5 Disposal of Shell Waste . 56 vii 4.5 Marketing . 56 4.5.1 Live Product ........................................................ 56 4.5 .2 Processed Product . 57 4.6 Demand . 57 4.7 Export-Import . 57 4.8 Estimated Economic Impact, Gulf ............................................... 57 4.9 Socio-cultural Characteristics of Blue Crab Fishermen . 59 4.10 Socio-cultural Conflicts . 59 5. CONDITION OF THE FISHERY ................................................ 61 5 .1 Current Status of the Stocks . 61 5.2 Condition of the Fishery by State . 61 5.2.1 Florida West Coast .................................................... 61 5 .2.2 Alabama and Mississippi . 61 5.2.3 Louisiana . 61 5.2.4 Texas ............................................................. 61 5.3 Economic Considerations ..................................................... 62 5 .4 Factors Affecting Abundance . 62 5.4.1 Larvae and Juveniles ................................................... 62 5 .5 Factors Affecting Commercial Landings . 63 5 .6 Habitat Concerns . ..
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