Reproductive biology of the velvet swimming crab, Necora puber (Brachyura: Portunidae), in the Orkney Islands, UK

This study focused on the reproductive biology of the velvet swimming crab, Necora puber (L.), and its implications for managing the fishery in the Orkney Islands, UK. According to gonadal observation, 50% of the population became sexually mature at 43.8 mm carapace width (CW) for females and 52.8 m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSarsia Vol. 89; no. 5; pp. 318 - 325
Main Author Hearn, Alex
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.10.2004
Subjects
Fecundity
Fishery
fløyelskrabber
fruktbarhet
Marine
Necora Puber
Orkney Islands
Reproduction
reproduksjon
Sexual Maturity
Velvet Swimming Crab
PSW, Antarctica, South Orkney Is
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Summary:This study focused on the reproductive biology of the velvet swimming crab, Necora puber (L.), and its implications for managing the fishery in the Orkney Islands, UK. According to gonadal observation, 50% of the population became sexually mature at 43.8 mm carapace width (CW) for females and 52.8 mm for males. Ovigerous females were observed from January to July, with peak occurrence in spring. Clutch size (N) ranged from 5000 to 278,000 eggs, and was related to CW by the equation: N × 10 3  = 0.0026 × CW 2.5169 , displaying considerable variability, possibly due to the fringe location of the population related to its general species distribution. Reinstatement of the closed season, coinciding with the peak moulting period, is recommended. The minimum landing size is appropriate for the population in terms of sexual maturity. The common practice of discarding recently moulted and ovigerous individuals should be incorporated into the fishing regulations.
Bibliography:Vol. 89, no. 5 (2004)
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0036-4827
1503-1128
DOI:10.1080/00364820410002578