Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

4.0 DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF THE LARVAE OF TANNER
CRABS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN BERING SEA
Lewis S. Incze
4.1 Introduction
Tanner crabs are brachyuran crabs of the genus Chionoecetes (Family
Majidae). In the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) Chionoecetes bairdi, C.
opilio (both numerous) and unknown numbers of C. angulatus and C.
tanneri occur (Garth 1958; Somerton 1981).
The latter two species are
deepwater organisms inhabiting slope water generally more than 300-400 m
deep.
These crabs are small, are of no commercial interest, and probably
have an exceedingly small role in the benthic and pelagic shelf sea environments.
On the other hand, adult C. bairdi and C. opilio are comparatively
large organisms which occur over a large portion of the southeastern
Bering Sea shelf from depths of 50 to 200m; they are the target of a
large commercial fishery of growing economic importance (Otto 1981) and
they are dominant organisms in the benthic ecosystem (Feder and Jewett
1981). This section examines the larval life history of these two
species of Tanner crab.
Of particular concern is the definition of
spatial and temporal patterns of larval abundance.
4.2 Description of the Fishery and Stocks
Prior to 1964 the catch of Tanner crab was only incidental to the
king crab catch of Japanese and Russian fishermen.
After 1964, however,
U.S. restrictions on foreign harvest of declining king crab stocks encouraged
exploitation of Tanner crabs as a substitute.
The initial
fishery was based exclusively on C. bairdi because of its larger size,
its better quality of meat for processing, and its occurrence in and
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