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Population status and fishery potential of the mangrove crab, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in North-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2016

Luciana Cavalcanti Maia Santos*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia da Paisagem e Conservação (LEPaC), Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 321, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia de Crustáceos (CRUSTA), Laboratório de Biologia de Crustáceos, UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Campus do Litoral Paulista (CLP), Praça Infante Dom Henrique, s/n., Parque Bitaru, 11330–900, São Vicente, SP, Brasil UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Campus Registro. Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupi, Registro, SP, Brasil
Marcelo Antonio Amaro Pinheiro
Affiliation:
Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia de Crustáceos (CRUSTA), Laboratório de Biologia de Crustáceos, UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Campus do Litoral Paulista (CLP), Praça Infante Dom Henrique, s/n., Parque Bitaru, 11330–900, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Département de Biologie des Organismes, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles – ULB, CP 169, Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 50, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium Laboratory of Plant Biology and Nature Management, Mangrove Management Group, Faculteit Wetenschappen en Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Marisa Dantas Bitencourt
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia da Paisagem e Conservação (LEPaC), Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 321, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.C.M. Santos, Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Campus Registro. Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupi, Registro, SP, Brasil email: santos.lucianacm@gmail.com

Abstract

Ucides cordatus is a semi-terrestrial crab and key species endemic to mangrove areas of eastern Americas. In North-eastern Brazil this crab holds a major socio-economic function for artisanal fisheries, as in the São Francisco River Estuary (10°30′27″S 36°23′45″W). Nevertheless, decreases in this species’ stock have been reported since 2000, requiring assessments of the crab population for conservation and management purposes. This study aims at assessing the population status and the fishery potential of this species in the mangroves of this estuary and suggests strategies for its fishery and conservation, according to the guidelines of the National Management Plan for U. cordatus Sustainable Use. Six different sites established in 30 km2 of mangroves were sampled, with the density of U. cordatus burrows estimated to evaluate the population structure using the measure of burrow diameters. Results show that the crab mean burrow size was 56.82 (±12.2) mm and that the medium-size crabs (40–70 mm) are the most abundant. The total mean crab density was 1.2 crabs m−2, from which the density of crabs in commercial size (0.85 ± 0.55 crabs m−2) was significantly higher than those in non-commercial size (0.35 ± 0.21 burrow m−2). These mangroves showed a high potential for the crab fishery, with an immediate extractive potential (IEP) of 71.2% and future extractive potential (FEP) of 28.8%. Nevertheless, a lower crab density, probably due to high crab mortality, mangrove deforestation for shrimp farming and high fishery pressure, is a limiting factor for local fishery. We conclude that mangrove areas more appropriate for U. cordatus fishery (extractive areas) show higher mean crab size, IEP and density of commercial crabs, wherein a fixed exploitation rate or/and a fixed escapement rule should be considered. Exclusion areas, intended for the conservation, show lower values of these population parameters and higher FEP, wherein the fishery should be prohibited. These management strategies should also be considered in other Brazilian mangrove areas showing similar crab population structure, thus contributing to the National Management Plan for U. cordatus Sustainable Use.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

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Footnotes

Co-last author.

References

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