MOVEMENTS OF KING CRABS TAGGED AND 



RELEASED IN SHUMAGIN ISLANDS 



AREA, 1957-62 



by 



Murray L. Hayes and Donald T, Montgonnery 



Fishery Research Biologists 



Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



Auke Bay, Alaska 



ABSTRACT 



During the summer of 1957, 1,999 male king crabs (Paralithodes camtschatica) 

 were tagged and released in the Shumagin Islands-False Pass area south of the 

 Alaska Peninsula. By August 15, 1962, 13,8 percent of the number released had been 

 returned. 



Tagged crabs from single off shore release locations were usually caught in more 

 than one bay, suggesting that the summer stock off shore was made up of components 

 found in separate locations at other times of the year. Tagged crabs released inside 

 or near the mouths of bays were usually returned from the same general area, sug- 

 gesting little movement between bays. Minimum distances of individual crab move- 

 ments between tagging and recovery varied from to 110 miles, but more than 90 

 percent of the returns were taken less than 35 miles from the tagging site. 



No recoveries were made by the U.S. or Japanese fishery in the Bering Sea, 



Growth of the crabs was similar to that previously reported. Biennial and tri- 

 ennial molt periods were indicated for large crabs. 



INTRODUCTION 



This paper reports migration and growth 

 data from recoveries of king crabs ('PoraZi^/iorfes 

 camtschatica) tagged during 1957 in the Shumagin 

 Islands-False Pass area south of the Alaska 

 Peninsula. The original purpose of the tagging 

 study was to determine if king crabs moved 

 from the area south of the Alaska Peninsula 

 into the Bering Sea. Biologists from the 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological 

 Laboratory in Seattle tagged the crabs in 

 conjunction with an exploratory fishing cruise 



made to search for commercial stocks of 

 king crab, shrimp, and bottomfish in the 

 same area. Johnson (1959) has reported the 

 exploratory phase of the work. 



Alaskan fishermen have harvested king crabs 

 commercially since at least 1909, but catches 

 were sporadic and small until after World War 

 II. In 1940, the Federal Government began a 

 2-year technical, economic, and biological 

 investigation of the king crab resource off 

 the coast of Alaska, This study revealed a 

 crab population in the Shumagin Islands area 



