Fecundity of Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus, in Chesapeake Bay: Biological, Statistical and Management Considerations

Ovigerous blue crabs were collected from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay during the 1986 and 1987 spawning seasons. Mean carapace width was 14.7 cm; mean fecundity was 3.2×106 eggs. Fecundity was significantly related to carapace width, and did not vary significantly with developmental stage of the eggs. Mean fecundities were 2.6×106 eggs in 1986, and 4.0×106 eggs in 1987. An additive model with year and size effects described the observed fecundities reasonably well, was compact, and was easier to interpret than a multiplicative model. To fit a more general model without year effects, the authors took the mean of 1986 and 1987 results, and modeled fecundity as E=-2.25+0.38W, where E is predicted fecundity (106 eggs), and W is carapace width (cm)