Blue Crab.
Blue Crabs have five pairs of legs and the first pair is equipped with pincers.
They have a hard shell or exoskeleton which is brownish-green or dark green and
drawn out on each side into a long spine. The underside of the body and legs are
white. Male and female claws are various shades of blue on top and the tips of
the female's claws are bright red.
Blue crabs are found along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. A shallow water
crab, it can live in salt, fresh and brackish waters of bays, sounds, channels
and river mouths. They are omnivorous, feeding on plants and animals. During the
winter months, blue crabs move into deeper water and enter a state of
semi-hibernation. They are commercially harvested by traps.
Blue Crab Health Assessment in Tampa Bay.
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute conducts Blue Crab Research on the health
of blue crabs in Tampa Bay.
Blue Crab Health Assessment studies in the Past conducted by the Crustacean
Fisheries group include the following studies:
- A trapping study in both upper and lower Tampa Bay—designed to examine population dynamics.
- A study on the effects of a barnacle parasite on blue crabs.
- A tagging study to determine the migration patterns of blue crabs along the Florida Gulf of Mexico coast.
- An analyses of the population structure of blue crabs in the eastern United States using two genetic techniques.
- A statewide study of the commercial catch comparing size and weight among areas of the state and among seasons.."
Blue Crab Facts.
Blue Crab
Scientific Name: Callinectes sapidus
Reaches Maturity: 12 to 18 months.
Blue crabs rarely live longer than 3 years.
Blue crabs are Cannibals and young blue crabs eaten by larger blue crabs is
common.
Crabs like stone crabs and spider crabs walk or run across the bottom. Some
Crabs like the Blue Crab have special back legs called swimmeret's allowing the
crab to swim. The blue crab's scientific name basically means "Beautiful & Tasty
Swimmer."
Blue Crabs breathe using gills and can survive out of water if their gills are
kept moist. Blue Crabs also have special articulating plates around their gills
to seal off the gills and help keep them moist.
The life span for a female Blue Crab is approx 1–2 years and a male is approx
1–3 years. Older Blue Crabs have been caught.
The Blue crab has an exoskeleton. In order for the blue crab to grow, it must
periodically shed its shell in a process called molting.
Predators of blue crabs include fish as well as other blue crabs. The major fish
predators of blue crabs in both their post larval and juvenile stages include
the Black Drum, Red Drum, the American Eel, Striped Bass, Spot, Sea Trout
catfish and the Atlantic Croaker. Some sharks and cow nose rays feed on
juveniles and larger crabs. The Atlantic Ridley sea turtle, an endangered
species, migrates to the Bay every summer to find its preferred food, the Blue Crab.