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Effect of an escape vent in accordion-shaped traps on the catch and size of Asian paddle crabs Charybdis japonica in an artificial reef area

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Abstract

Accordion-shaped traps are widely used in China to catch the Asian paddle crab Charybdis japonica but traps of conventional design often catch juvenile crabs. A new type of accordion-shaped trap with an escape vent (L×W=4.3 cm×3.0 cm) was designed and a comparative study between the newly designed and conventional traps was performed in the artificial reef area of Zhuwang, Laizhou Bay, China from June to August 2012. The mean catch per unit effort (CPUE) of undersized crabs was significantly lower in the vented traps than in the conventional traps (paired t -test, n=30, P<0.001), while the CPUE of marketable crabs was significantly higher in the vented traps (paired t-test, n=30, P<0.001). The mean size of crabs (carapace length) caught in the vented traps was significantly larger than in conventional traps (paired t-test, n=29, P<0.001). The ratio of undersized crabs was 35.05±2.57% in conventional traps and 12.53±0.69% in vented traps (significantly lower, paired t-test, n=29, P<0.001). Therefore, a 4.3 cm×3.0 cm escape vent was considered appropriate for C. japonica fishing in the artificial reef area. This finding will assist the development of more sustainable and efficient crab fishing methods using accordion-shaped traps.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Peng Zhang  (张鹏), Chao Li  (李超), Wentao Li  (李文涛) & Xiumei Zhang  (张秀梅)

  2. Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fishery Resources and Eco-Environment, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Peng Zhang  (张鹏)

  3. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266072, China

    Xiumei Zhang  (张秀梅)

Authors
  1. Peng Zhang  (张鹏)
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  2. Chao Li  (李超)
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  3. Wentao Li  (李文涛)
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  4. Xiumei Zhang  (张秀梅)
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Correspondence to Xiumei Zhang  (张秀梅).

Additional information

Supported by the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean (Nos. 201305043, 201405010) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41006075)

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Zhang, P., Li, C., Li, W. et al. Effect of an escape vent in accordion-shaped traps on the catch and size of Asian paddle crabs Charybdis japonica in an artificial reef area. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 34, 1238–1246 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-5114-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-5114-1

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