42 
Fishery Bulletin 106(1) 
Four different categories of soak times were 
analyzed. The strings that were given a nomi- 
nal two days of soak time (as is commonly 
used in commercial fishing) were physically 
in the water for 36 to 57 h (IV = 61 string set- 
tings; mean = 46.7 ±0.5 SE, standard error). 
The strings that were given three days of 
soak time were left out for 68 to 78 h (N= 30 
string settings; mean=71.6 ±0.5 SE). Strings 
that were soaked for 90 to 120 h were clas- 
sified as soaking for four to five days (N=8 
string settings; mean=107.4 ±3.6 SE). A soak 
time of seven to eight days was ascribed to 
strings that were left to fish for 167 to 192 h 
(A = 13 string settings; mean=176 ±3.0 SE). 
During pot hauling, the sex of the crabs was 
identified and the carapace length (CL) was 
measured to the nearest millimeter with a 
caliper gauge (Zhou and Shirley, 1997b). The 
difference in mesh size between the square 
(100-mm mesh) and conical pots (150-mm 
mesh) may have contributed to differences in 
catchability of the smallest crabs. All crabs 
below 91 mm CL (a total of 54 crabs in the 
square pots and 16 in the conical pots) were therefore 
excluded from the length analysis because crabs with 
a CL of up to 90 mm are capable of escaping through 
a 152-mm mesh (Zhou and Shirley, 1997c). 
The pooled catch of crabs from the two pots of the 
same type within a string was used as a single ob- 
servation in the statistical analyses to prevent infla- 
tion of tests by the use of pseudoreplicates (here: 
individual pots of the same type in the same string) 
and to minimize the effects of current (Sinoda and 
Kobayasi, 1969; Vienneau et al., 1993), and differ- 
ences in depth, bottom conditions, and patchy distri- 
Figure 3 
Map of the study area where the square and concical 
pots were used to capture red king crab ( Paralithod.es 
camtschaticus). Sampling locations are marked with 
asterisks. 
bution of the crabs (Wallace et al., 1949; Zhou and 
Shirley, 1998). 
The catch and length observations were not nor- 
mally distributed. Non-parametric statistics were 
therefore employed in the analyses. Paired compari- 
sons (Wilcoxon test) of catch of RKC in square and 
conical pots in each string were carried out for each 
soak time. The Kruskal-Wallace one-way analysis of 
variance of ranks (Zar, 1999) was used to test for 
whether catch rates varied with soak time within 
each type of pot. The size composition of male and 
female crabs in the square and conical pots was com- 
Bouy 
Polypropylene rope 
(12 mm diameter) 
// 
30 m 
Polypropylene pot strap 
(10 mm diameter) 
Figure 4 
Drawing of the rigging formation used to capture red king crab ( Paralithod.es camtschaticus) in square and conical crab 
pots. Square and conical pots were arranged alternately along the string. 
