Preliminary observations on the distribution and abundance of the stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, in South Carolina waters

Collections of stone crabs were made at seven locations near Charleston, South Carolina from July - September 1982. In each location sampled, five commercial wire blue crab traps with two entrance holes and five wooden-lath stone crab traps, similar to those used in the Florida fishery, were fished for two and three days in paired sets. Twice as many stone crabs were collected in the blue crab trap as in the stone crab trap, and for six of the sites sampled, catches in the blue crab trap were significantly greater than those in the stone crab trap. No significant differences were found in the number of crabs per trap between two-day and three-day sets for either trap type. For all sites sampled, catch per unit of effort showed a decline when plotted against cumulative catch of the blue crab trap, suggesting that either sites were being fished out; that stone crabs were emigrating from these areas; or that they were no longer susceptible to active fishing because of a behavioral change