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Use of Avoidance Responses to Keep Spider Crabs Out of Traps for American Lobsters
Author(s) -
Richards R. Anne,
Cobb J. Stanley
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1987)116<282:uoartk>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - homarus , american lobster , spider , fishery , biology , crustacean , decapoda , zoology , fishing
Spider crabs Libinia spp. are a problem when caught in lobster traps because they have no market value, consume bait, occupy space in the trap, and increase trap‐processing time. We conducted fishing experiments in which freshly crushed spider crabs were added to the bait in lobster traps. This treatment significantly reduced the catch of spider crabs compared to traps which contained only bait. American lobsters Homarus americanus, Jonah crabs Cancer borealis, and rock crabs C. irroratus were apparently not affected by the addition of crushed spider crabs. We hypothesize that the decreased catch of spider crabs was due to an alarm response elicited by compounds released from the crushed spider crabs.