IV-E-24 



Ropes, J.W. 1968. The feeding habits of the green crab, Carcinus 

 maenas . Fishery Bulletin 67(2):183-197. 



Green crabs are believed to be the cause of a decline during the 

 1940s in the commercial landings of the soft-shell clam. Collections 

 of 3,979 green crabs from Plum Island Sound, and vicinity in 

 1954-56 provided the samples for a study of their feeding habits. 

 Crabs were caught at the edges of salt marshes by opening caves in 

 the banks of Spartina . Estimates of the amount of food in the stomachs 

 were divided into three categories based on tissue or hard parts of 

 food. 



Some foods were eaten frequently by certain groups of crabs. 

 Spartina was found most often in intertidal crabs. Plant foods, 

 especially Spartina , were abundant near the caves inhabited by green 

 crabs and on islands that were relatively near the subtidal zone. 

 In general, all sizes of crabs ingested the same kinds of foods; 

 differences in foods were minor. Pelecypods were most frequent in 

 crabs 30 to 59 mm wide. (L.H.) 



Keywords: green crab, Spartina , plant foods, upper U.S. Atlantic coast 



IV-E-25 



Dunham, F. 1972. A study of commercially important estuarine-dependent 



industrial fishes. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission 



Technical Bulletin 4. 63 pp. 



A study of commercially important estuarine-dependent industrial 

 fishes was conducted from July 1969 through June 1972 in the area of 

 the Barataria and Caminada Bays in the parishes of Lafourche, Jefferson, 

 and Plaquemines in Louisiana. The purpose of the project was to aid 

 the fishing industry in the best utilization of fish resources. 

 Data were obtained both from field samples, which included those taken 

 with a 0.5-meter plankton net and a 16-foot otter trawl, and samples 

 taken at industrial fish companies. 



The most abundant species (54.7 percent) in the trawl samples was 

 bay anchovy ( Anchoa mitchilli ) and the most abundant commercial 

 fish species was Atlantic croaker ( Micropogon undulatus ). The 

 monitoring of fish eggs and larvae entering the bay revealed 

 seasonal influxes, but did not always give a true representation of 

 the abundance of juvenile, sub-adult, and adult fish populations. 



Samples from industrial bottom-fish catches showed that Atlantic 

 croaker make up over 65 percent of the total catch. Only a small 



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