Chaceon quinquedens
Chaceon quinquedens, commonly known as the red deep-sea crab,[1] but sold as Atlantic deep sea red crab, or simply Atlantic red crab or red crab is a crab that lives in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States and Canada, from North Carolina to Nova Scotia.[2][3]
| Chaceon quinquedens | |
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| Species: | C. quinquedens |
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| Chaceon quinquedens (Smith, 1879) | |
The crab is commercially fished as food. Since 2002, the species has been managed under the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan created by the New England Fishery Management council. The National Marine Fisheries Service has established an Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) of 1,775 tons (3.91 million pounds)[4] but average landings rarely exceed 930 tons (2.05 Million lbs) and average value of landings in 2016-2018 was $3.29 Million. The species resembles a snow crab from Alaska.[3] However, they are actually members of the superfamily Portunoidea, or swimming crabs, so are more closely related to blue crabs Callinectes sapidus, although they do not have the flattened fifth leg characteristic of that species. According to the Virginia Marine Products Board, the average weight of marketed crabs is about one to two pounds, and the average size is "1-2 lbs. or 5 to 7 inches (12.5cm-17.5cm) across the back of the shell."[2]
Red deep sea crab on the US east coast show distinct sex segregation by depth along the continental slope. Females predominate in depths of 450–700 m, and those in shallow water are predominantly reproductive adults, whereas males predominate at greater depths.[5] Furthermore, crabs in deeper water tend to be smaller than those in shallow water.[6] This distribution suggests that red deep sea crabs undergo ontogenetic (life-cycle) migration.[7] In this scenario, females on the upper slope (above 600 m) release larvae that migrate to surface waters, then settle in water deeper than 1000 m. As they grow, they move upslope and eventually become mature in shallower water. Red deep sea crabs living in the Gulf of Mexico, however, do not demonstrate a similar distribution; both large and small crabs are found from 500 to 1950 m, and no relationship with depth was found for sex or size.[8]
Further reading
- Essential Fish Habitat Source Document: Red Deepsea Crab, Chaceon (Geryon) quinquedens, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-163, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region, Northeast Fisheries Science Center (January 2001)
References
- American Fisheries Society (2005). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Crustaceans. Bethesda, MD.: American Fisheries Society. ISBN 1888569646.
- "Red Crab: Chacean quinquedens". Virginia Marine Products Board.
- Julie Ball (April 23, 2009). "What in the World is a RED CRAB?". Virginian Pilot.
- Red Crab Plan Development Team, New England Fishery Management Council (2019-08-26). "Red Deep Sea Crab". New England Fishery Management Council/ Management Plans/ Red crab. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- Stevens, Bradley G.; Guida, Vincent (2016-06-02). "Depth and temperature distribution, morphometrics, and sex ratios of red deepsea crab (Chaceon quinquedens) at 4 sampling sites in the Mid-Atlantic Bight". Fishery Bulletin. 114 (3): 343–359. doi:10.7755/fb.114.3.7. ISSN 0090-0656.
- Wahle, Richard A.; Bergeron, Charlene E.; Chute, Antonie S.; Jacobson, Larry D.; Chen, Yong (2008-09-01). "The Northwest Atlantic deep-sea red crab (Chaceon quinquedens) population before and after the onset of harvesting". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 65 (6): 862–872. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn058. ISSN 1054-3139.
- Haefner, P. A., J. A. Musick (1974). "Observations on distribution and abundance of red crabs in Norfolk Canyon and adjacent continental slope". Marine Fisheries Review. 36: 31–34.
- KILGOUR, M. J, T. C. Shirley (2008). "Distribution of red deepsea crab (Chaceon quinquedens) by size and sex in the Gulf of Mexico". Fishery Bulletin. 106: 317–320.