Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

consider in regard to king crab biology, lease sale areas, and oil
perturbations are: 1) the distribution and abundance of mature females;
2) abundance, distribution and transport of larvae; 3) time and duration
of annual larval hatch; 4) frequency of molting; and 5) area(s) of
larval metamporphosis and settlements of juveniles.
Distribution of red king crab larvae nearshore along the NAS is in
partial accord with that of the sexually mature female population in the
southeastern Bering Sea.
The annual NMFS groundfish survey in that area
shows that female crab are abundant in the area of high larval density
(Figs. 3.5, 3.11), but also for greater distances offshore (up to 120 km)
and in northwestern Bristol Bay (e.g. high abundance around 57°30'N,
162°W as a focal point; Fig. 3.3). While females seem to be distributed
more widely than larvae along the NAS, a similar conclusion cannot be
drawn for Bristol Bay (east and north of Cape Seniavin) because of very
limited larval sampling in that area.
Still, since larvae of red king
are apparently found over a more restricted range than adult females, a
variable percentage of the females may be superfluous to the annual
reproductive effort because they spawn in areas unsuitable for larval
and/or early juvenile survival.
Therefore, exposure of females to oil
in the area of larval hatch may be a more important consideration than
exposure of females elsewhere within the species range in the southeastern
Bering Sea.
Larval abundance appears to vary appreciably on an annual and
geographic basis along the NAS, although data are few for some years and
areas (see Fig. 3.16 and Table 3.3).
The extent to which larval
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