Abundance, Size Structure, and Growth of the Invasive Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in the Lesina Lagoon, Southern Adriatic Sea

The fishery biology of the invasive Atlantic blue crab in the Mediterranean Sea outside the eastern sectors of the basin has been only recently investigated. Here we studied the population of in the Lesina Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, SE Italy). In total, 838 crabs were captured monthly between February 20...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-12, Vol.13 (12), p.1051
Main Authors: Mancinelli, Giorgio, Lago, Nicola, Scirocco, Tommaso, Lillo, Oscar Antonio, De Giorgi, Raffaele, Doria, Lorenzo, Mancini, Emanuele, Mancini, Francesco, Potenza, Luigi, Cilenti, Lucrezia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology
Callinectes sapidus
Comparative analysis
CPUE
Creeks & streams
Crustaceans
Fish industry
Fisheries
Fisheries management
fishery biology
Growth
Health aspects
invasive species
Lagoons
Life history
morphological maturity
Salinity
Sex ratio
size structure
Water temperature
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Summary:The fishery biology of the invasive Atlantic blue crab in the Mediterranean Sea outside the eastern sectors of the basin has been only recently investigated. Here we studied the population of in the Lesina Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, SE Italy). In total, 838 crabs were captured monthly between February 2021 and January 2022 using fyke nets. Abundances varied seasonally with catches per unit effort ranging between 0 and 1.76 crabs fyke nets d in winter and summer. Spatial abundances estimated in summer by a Carle-Strub procedure ranged between 0.06 and 0.64 crabs m . The sex ratio (♂/♀) was close to 1:1; males prevailed only in August and September; ovigerous females occurred from April to August. The males' size at morphological maturity was smaller than females (110.6-112.3 mm vs. 122.1-123.1 mm). Seasonal von Bertalanffy growth parameters indicated that, compared with males, females showed a shorter maximum lifespan (5 vs. 8 years), a higher growth coefficient K (0.6 vs. 0.4 y ) and growth performance index Ф' (4.6 vs. 4.3), while maximum sizes CW∞ (237.8 vs. 232.6 mm) and seasonality indices C (0.62 vs. 0.57) were similar. Furthermore, females showed higher natural and fishing mortalities and exploitation rate. We discussed the results of the present study in the context of the available literature to provide a valuable basis for the implementation of standardized Mediterranean-scale management plans, matching exploitation of with sustainable conservation of coastal ecosystems.
ISSN:2079-7737
2079-7737
DOI:10.3390/biology13121051