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Blue Crab Research at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

FWRI has three blue crab studies currently underway. The first is a trapping study in Tampa Bay from which researchers are learning about the local population of blue crabs. Biologists will compare these data with data obtained for juvenile blue crabs in the bay to determine stock-recruitment relationships. The data will also be compared with commercial blue crab landings to determine the relationship of actual population density to the commercial catch. Seven trap lines of five blue crab traps (“short boys”) each are located throughout the bay. Traps are pulled every week, emptied of crabs and bycatch, baited with fish (usually mullet), and redeployed. Crabs caught in the traps are sexed, measured, weighed, and checked for injuries and molt condition; then they are returned to the water. Scientists also note the number and species of bycatch and measure water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH.

The second blue crab study is a survey of blue crab harvesters in Florida.  During 2002, staff from the FMRI Crustacean Fisheries group conducted a mail survey of commercial fishermen who harvest blue crabs in Florida in 2001.  The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions that focussed principally on individual fishing effort, trap usage, trap loss, and fishing location.  We mailed the questionnaires out to these fishermen during July 2002.  A total of 292 completed questionnaires were returned and are being compiled into a report.

The newest research project is on the health of blue crabs in Tampa Bay.  You can read more about this study in the article "Blue Crab Health Assessment."

Past blue crab research conducted by the Crustacean Fisheries group included the following studies:

• A trapping study in both upper and lower Tampa Bay—designed to examine population dynamics
• A study on the effects of a barnacle parasite on blue crabs
• A tagging study to determine the migration patterns of blue crabs along the Florida Gulf of Mexico coast
• An analyses of the population structure of blue crabs in the eastern United States using two genetic techniques
• A statewide study of the commercial catch comparing size and weight among areas of the state and among seasons.