Size at sexual maturity and body size composition of mud crabs Scylla spp. caught in Don Sak, Bandon Bay, Gulf of Thailand

作者：Hamasaki Katsuyuki^*; Matsui Naohiro; Nogami Makoto

来源：Fisheries Science, 2011, 77(1): 49-57.

DOI：10.1007/s12562-010-0307-6

• Baited trap
• Chela allometry
• Gill net
• Mangrove
• Minimum landing size
• Reforestation

Size at sexual maturity and body size composition of mud crabs Scylla spp. were examined as the basis for settling a minimum landing size as a fishing regulation in Don Sak, Bandon Bay, Gulf of Thailand, which has suffered serious mangrove habitat degradation. Mud crabs were caught using baited traps and gill nets. Hooked metal rods were also used to lever the crabs out of their burrows inside the mangroves. Two mud crab species, S. paramamosain and S. olivacea, occur in the bay; S. paramamosain is the dominant species, accounting for 87% of the samples. The size at which 50% of the S. paramamosain females reached maturity (SM50) was estimated as an external carapace width (ECW) of 112.0 mm based on the morphology of the abdomen. Allometric changes in the crushing chelae height to ECW ratio suggested that the SM50 of S. paramamosain males occurred at 106.4 mm ECW. The body size composition revealed that mainly immature mud crabs were exploited in Don Sak. To maintain a sustainable fishery for mud crabs, fishing regulations-including a minimum landing size based on the SM50 estimates-are essential, as is habitat restoration.

• 出版日期2011-1