FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 74, NO. 3 



Soft-shelled crabs and peelers have legal min- 

 ima of 3V2 inches and 3 inches, respectively, in 

 Delaware and Maryland compared to a 5-inch 

 minimum for hard-shelled crabs. Because of the 

 greater molting frequency of smaller crabs, the 

 smaller size limit permits a greater volume of this 

 relatively high-priced product. Soft-shelled crabs 

 are sold and eaten whole so the economics of meat 

 extraction is not a consideration. Crabs with a 

 shell just starting to harden (paper shell) may not 

 be landed as they are not suitable for the soft-shell 

 market and the meat yield is too low for processing 

 as hard-shelled crabs (Maryland). 



In Maryland, dredges are permitted only from 

 15 April to 31 October (compare with summer 

 closure in Delaware and North Carolina in the 

 previous section). The crabs are not buried in the 

 sediment in this period and have had time to clean 

 themselves of attached mud making them a more 

 desirable product. 



Administration 



A commercial license is required specifically for 

 blue crab in Delaware and Maryland, while a 

 general commercial license will sufl'ice in North 

 Carolina and Texas. No license is required in 

 Alabama and only a permit number is required in 

 Florida. Traps are generally required to be buoyed 

 and must have the boat permit or license number 

 displayed on buoys in Florida, Maryland, and 

 Delaware. This is to reduce the navigation hazard 

 of traps and to help enforce seasons and registra- 

 tion requirements. 



Florida Stone Crab 

 {Menippe mercenaria) 



This species has supported a commercial fishery 

 in Florida for approximately 25 yr. Landings have 

 recently increased from 1 million pounds in 1965 to 

 2.1 million pounds in 1973. The fishery operates 

 around most of Florida's coast over less than 1 to 8 

 fathoms depth, but 80% of the landings are taken 

 from the Keys and the southwest coast. The 

 fishery does not exist in other areas of the United 

 States but does extend into the Caribbean. 



Conservation 



This fishery has a unique regulation requiring 

 that only the claw may be retained. The remainder 

 of the crab must be returned live to the water. The 

 crab market accepts only the claw. A small per- 



centage of declawed animals survive to spawn and 

 a small percentage regenerate the claw to com- 

 mercial size. The minimum size for propodus 

 length of the claw is 2% inches. Data on growth 

 and natural mortality indicate that this is near the 

 optimum size for maximum yield per recruit. 



Crab fishing is closed for 5 mo over the spawning 

 season. Fishermen reason that this closure yields 

 better recruitment to the fishery although this is 

 not supported by present biological data. The 

 eff'ort restriction does produce higher catches per 

 unit effort during the open season, however. 



It is unlawful to fish with spears, hooks, or other 

 gear that might kill the crabs. 



Administration 



Each trap must have a buoy, and traps and boats 

 must be clearly marked with a permit number and 

 color code unique to each boat. These regulations 

 help in enforcement of seasons and boat registra- 

 tion requirements. Traps marked with buoys also 

 reduce their hazards to navigation. Boats must be 

 registered specifically for the stone crab fishery. 



PROCEDURES FOR CHANGING 

 LAWS AND REGULATIONS 



To this point no distinction has been made 

 between laws and regulations. Laws are passed by 

 an elected legislative body whereas regulations 

 are approved by a department's secretary or 

 minister, or an appointed commission. Recom- 

 mendations for changes in laws or regulations 

 usually follow the same route whether they 

 originate within the public service or the fishing 

 industry. 



Alaska 



Regulations are made by a seven-member Board 

 of Fisheries composed of fishermen and business- 

 men and appointed by the State Governor. 

 Proposed changes for regulations are submitted to 

 the board by the Department of Fish and Game 

 staff and the public at least 60 days before their 

 annual shellfish meeting. Thirty days before the 

 meeting a printed list of all proposals is sent to 

 fishermen, processors, government representa- 

 tives, and any other interested parties. During its 

 meeting, which is public, the board solicits com- 

 ments from the public and the staff of the depart- 

 ment on each recommendation. Following the 



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