Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209

Effect of two collapsible pot designs on escape rate

and behavior of the invasive swimming crabs
Charybdis japonica and Portunus pelagicus
Miguel Vazquez Archdale ∗ , Cherry Pilapil Añasco, Yousuke Kawamura, Sanae Tomiki
Fishing Technology Lab., Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, Shimoarata 4-50-20, Kagoshima 890-0056, Japan
Received 7 August 2006; received in revised form 22 January 2007; accepted 10 February 2007

Abstract
Escape rates and behaviors of the invasive crabs Charybdis japonica and Portunus pelagicus were investigated in two commercial pots: a
box-shaped pot with two slit entrances at the ends and a dome-shaped pot with two open funnels. A variation of the dome-shaped type with two
plastic triggers installed in each entrance that served as non-return devices was also tested. Pots, each with one marked crab inside, were set in a
pond that is connected to Kagoshima Bay, Japan. Escape rates over a 7-day period were observed while diving. Furthermore, escape behaviors of
C. japonica were examined in a tank for both types of pots containing a single crab in each. Escape rates of crabs were highest in the dome-shaped
pots because of the open funnel entrances, followed by those in pots with triggers installed, but there was no escape in the box-shaped pots because
the tight slit entrances prevented the crabs from getting out.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Invasive crabs; Charybdis japonica; Portunus pelagicus; Eradication; Entrance; Collapsible pot; Escape

1. Introduction
Two commercially important Asian portunid crabs, the shore
swimming crab Charybdis japonica and the blue swimming
crab Portunus pelagicus, have established themselves as exotic
species, the first in the waters of New Zealand and Australia
(Smith et al., 2003), and the second in the eastern Mediterranean
sea (Takeda, 1983). It is feared that they may cause a negative
impact on the local fisheries resources and habitat, and because
they may serve as disease vectors (Maeda et al., 1998) that can
damage the fisheries and aquaculture industries research on erad-
ication methods for their removal is necessary. Previous studies
on these crabs have determined that collapsible pots could be
used for their removal (Vazquez Archdale et al., 2003, 2006a,b;
Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005), and the use of two com-
mercially available pots, a box-shaped pot with slit entrances
and a dome-shaped pot with open funnel entrances, has been
investigated. Nevertheless, the effects of deploying many pots
at sea during a large eradication program have still to be deter-
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 99 286 4272; fax: +81 99 286 4272.
E-mail address: miguel@fish.kagoshima-u.ac.jp (M.V. Archdale).
mined, and the possible damage by ghost fishing that lost pots
may have on the local fisheries resources should be ascertained.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the escape behavior
and escape rates of these two crab species from collapsible pots
during a period of 7 days by placing them in a pond resembling
their natural habitat and in a laboratory tank. Studies on these
pots and crab species have focused on entry behavior (Vazquez
Archdale et al., 2003, 2006a) and determined catching effec-
tiveness during fishing trials (Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara,
2005; Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b), but a study on escape
behavior and rates is necessary to completely understand the
capture process of these pots and their possible consequences
when lost at sea.
Catch per pot has been used as an index of abundance during
stock assessment studies of crustaceans, but it is greatly affected
by many variables (Miller, 1990). Pot design and soaking time
are known to influence the pot’s capture efficiency because of
the different physical parameters of the pot, such as volume,
entrance type and number, or mesh size; and because the con-
ditions in the pot change over time. As time elapses, the bait
loses its attractiveness, and because of the growing presence of
crabs inside the pot intimidating others trying to get in, the pot
may become saturated. At this time, depending on the reten-

0165-7836/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2007.02.008
 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209
tion characteristics of the pot, escape may play an important
role (Zou and Shirley, 1997a). In our study, the slit or open fun-
nel entrances and the differences in mesh size will bias results
on crab catch, and affect the estimates of the population; conse-
quently, information on escape rates can be used to correct those
catch estimates.
Behavior of C. japonica around pots placed in a tank was
investigated in Korea, and escape increased when the entrances
were located near the base of the pot or when the number of
entrances was increased from 2 to 4 (Kim and Ko, 1987). In tank
experiments carried out in Australia (Smith and Sumpton, 1989),
only one P. pelagicus out of the 91 that entered a cylindrical pot
with two funnel entrances could escape within 19 h; larger crabs
inside the pot threatened others and prevented them from enter-
ing through the funnels. Conventional pots for the Alaskan red
king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (Zou and Shirley, 1997b,c)
were tested in a tank and improved to retain more legal-sized
males and to release female crabs and undersized males by mod-
ifying the type of entrance and its location. Tank experiments
with the rock crab Cancer irroratus (Miller, 1980) showed that
escape from top entrance pots could be eliminated by installing
plastic collars in the entrance that made crawling impossible
for crabs, and one-way triggers reduced escapement of large
crabs in side entrance pots. Fishing trials by the same author
(Miller, 1979b) indicated that pot saturation occurs after only
a few hours and that crabs inside the pots intimidate others
from entering. This same study showed that preventing escape
from top entrance pots could increase catches by 60% over a
12 h soaking time. Other field studies carried out on escape of
Dungeness crabs Cancer magister from lost pots (High, 1976)
showed that in 12 days only 5% could escape from pots equipped
with triggers, but 100% escaped from the same pots if the
triggers were raised and made non-functional. Lost pots tar-
geting blue crabs Callinectes sapidus can kill up to 25 crabs
per pot in a year, but escapement can also be as high as about
45% (Guillory, 1993).
Other methods effectively used to limit escape of crabs from
pots are sloping the funnel entrances upwards, installing sepa-
rate chambers or parlors to increase retention, or placing triggers,
shutters or other non-return devices in the entrances to prevent
escape (Thomas, 1956; High, 1976; Miller, 1979a, 1980, 1990).
Currently, there are no trigger designs that can be installed on
collapsible pots (Wyman, Neptune Marine Products Inc., per-
sonal communication).
To facilitate escape of non-commercial sizes of crabs, as well
as non-target animals, adjusting the space between triggers (Zou
and Shirley, 1997c), installing escape gaps or rings (Eldridge
et al., 1979), or simply controlling mesh size has been used
(Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b). Other methods used to ame-
liorate the effect of lost pots are biodegradable netting panels
(Hébert et al., 2001) and time releases (Gagnon and Boudreau,
1991) that open some part of the pot after a predetermined time.
The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of escape on
the capture process of these collapsible pot designs, to determine
the escape rates for C. japonica and P. pelagicus, and to indicate
which pot design will have a less damaging effect if lost and left
unattended in the fishing ground.
203
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Pond experiment
As in our previous studies on collapsible pots, the pond
experiment was conducted in Kagoshima City’s Marine Park,
southern Japan (see Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005;
Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b for description). This pond is
connected to Kagoshima Bay and permits the entry of local
marine fauna, where C. japonica and P. pelagicus are predom-
inant crab species. Pots were placed on the bottom by divers.
The surface water temperature in the pond ranged from 25.6 to
30.8 ◦ C, salinity from 28 to 33 ppt, and depth varied according
to the tides from 2.5 to 4.5 m.
A box-shaped (BOX) pot, which had two 44 cm slit all-web
entrances at the ends, and a dome-shaped (DOME) pot, which
had two open funnel entrances with a rigid metal-framed orifice
(15 cm width, 8 cm height) at each end, were the two collapsi-
ble pot designs used (Kagotoku Shiroyama Kenmousha, Ise,
Japan; see Fig. 1). Fishermen use the BOX pot to catch crabs and
octopus, and the DOME pot for swimming crabs. In addition, a
modified dome-shaped pot with triggers (DOME-T) installed on
the metal orifices was used to test the effect of these non-return
devices in preventing escape. Triggers (Fig. 1, right) were made
by fixing two white plastic ties (150 mm long and 3.4 mm wide,
Sg-150, S.G. Industrial Co., Ltd., Japan) to the wire frame of the
entrance orifice and maintaining the triggers vertically closed by
pulling them towards the frame with nylon monofilament. The
tie was cut to 10 cm length to protrude slightly from the frame
of the orifice.
Crabs from the pond were trapped with pots baited with
half (about 100 g) a Pacific mackerel Scomber japonicus and
identified to species, their sex was determined and carapace
width (CW) measured. Any crabs with missing appendages were
discarded. The average size for C. japonica was 9.03 cm CW
(ranges from 7.3 to 12.3 cm, n = 65) and P. pelagicus averaged
12.7 cm CW (ranges 10.0–15.5 cm, n = 30). After drying their
carapace with a towel, a code number was written on the dorsal
carapace with a white marker (Paint marker PX-20, Mitsubishi
Co., Japan) to distinguish them from others entering the pot. One
crab was placed individually in each pot because average catches
for both crab species were lower that one crab per pot (Vazquez
Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005; Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b;
Gust and Inglis, 2006); pots were then lowered to the bottom
of the pond. These pots were not baited. The numbers of pots
set each day depended on crab availability. The numbers of pots
Fig. 1. Shape, dimensions and entrances of BOX, DOME and DOME-T pots.
204 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209
used in the experiment were 9 BOX, 10 DOME and 11 DOME-
T for P. pelagicus, and 23 BOX, 23 DOME and 19 DOME-T
for C. japonica. Observations were made by divers for the next
7 days to note the number of crabs in each pot. Normally, pots
are soaked for 1 day in actual fishing, but it is common to leave
them in the fishing ground for several days when the weather
conditions are poor. The seven-day period was used to investi-
gate the possible negative effects of losing the pots in the fishing
ground and their contribution to ghost fishing. When a crab had
escaped, the pot was hauled and reset with a new marked crab.
Any organisms retained in the pots were identified and mea-
sured. After the 7 days, marked crabs and other animals were
released from the pots.
For the statistical analysis, the Chi-square test was employed
to investigate if the crab escape rates of the three pot designs
were significantly different at the 5% level. Whenever a differ-
ence was found, the Tukey-type multiple comparison test was
conducted to see which escape rate differed. Moreover, to know
whether crabs stayed longer in a particular pot design, the Anal-
ysis of Variance by Ranks or Kruskal-Wallis test was used. If a
difference was found, the data analysis was continued to deter-
mine which pot design was preferred using the non-parametric
Tukey-type multiple comparison test known as the Nemenyi test.
2.2. Tank experiment
An indoor tank was used to observe escape in C. japonica
from BOX and DOME pots. Due to the limited time and space,
only this species was used for the 15 trials conducted for each
pot. Male crabs were used with an average size of 8.7 cm CW
(7.5–10.9 cm range, n = 9). The tank (Fig. 2, top) was located in a
dark room, and observations were made on April 14–December
15, 2005. This same tank was used in Vazquez Archdale et al.
(2006a). Water temperature ranged from 22 to 25 ◦ C and salinity
was 33 ppt. The bottom of the tank had 3 cm of sand and a clay
octopus pot was placed near the water outlet as shelter for the
Fig. 2. Tank set-up (top) and recording method for “escape test” (bottom).
crab. This shelter location was chosen to facilitate the diffusion
of the bait odor plume to where the crab usually hid. For the
video recordings, a fluorescent lamp (18 W) placed 1 m above
the tank was covered with a red plastic sheet, because red light
is reported to cause minimal disturbance to crayfish and lobsters
(Kennedy and Bruno, 1961).
A single crab was placed in the tank 1 day before the experi-
ment, starved and left to acclimatize until the next day at 14:00 h,
when the pot was introduced. Each type of pot was presented ran-
domly to a crab. The pot was baited with one sprat Sprateloides
gracilis (average 6.9 cm fork length), which was tied to the bait-
ing wire that arched in front of the entrances. It was lowered into
the tank with the entrances oriented parallel to the water current
so that the bait’s odor trail would coincide with one of them.
Trials where crabs neither responded to the bait nor entered the
pots during 1.5 h were disregarded. Crabs that molted or died
during the trials were also excluded from the data.
After a crab entered the pot, its position was observed three
times daily (observation times: 8:30, 13:00 and 18:00 h) for 7
days. If the crab had not escaped by day 7, an “escape test” was
conducted. One sprat was tied to a wooden stick and inserted
half way into the pot entrance located directly downstream from
the water inlet, to lure the crab to the entrance and encourage it to
escape (Fig. 2, bottom). The crabs were observed continuously
for 1.5 h with a video camera (DCR-TRV17K, Sony Corpora-
tion, Tokyo, Japan), and their behavior towards the pots was
analyzed. Observations of escape behavior focused on whether
the crabs crawled or swam towards the baited entrance, the loca-
tion they chose on the entrance to try to escape (top or bottom
of slit or open funnel), the use they made of their appendages to
reach the bait or exit the entrance, and the time they took to exit
the entrance opening (slit or metal orifice of open funnel). Escape
behaviors were defined according to the direction of the attempt
(top or bottom) and consisted of approach and contact with the
slit panels (BOX pot) or open funnels (DOME pot) while show-
ing mouthpart movement and inserting legs and claws through
the netting in the direction of the bait; losing contact with the
entrance would terminate an attempt.
The normal approximation to the binomial test was used to
statistically test if the escape rate in the BOX pot was different
from that in the DOME pot. A t-test was conducted to determine
if crabs remained longer in a particular pot design. The t-test and
Kruskal-Wallis test were computed using SPSS 10.0 software.
3. Results
3.1. Pond experiment
Crabs did not escape through the tight slit entrances of the
BOX pot, but did escape through the open entrances of the
DOME pots and around the triggers of the DOME-T pot. The
escape rates of the three pot types were significantly different
(Chi-square test 0.05,2 = 5.991, Xc2 = 54.25, p < 0.001). When
comparing the escape rates between the pots using the Tukey-
type multiple comparison test (q0.05,∞,3 = 3.314), the escape
rate of the BOX pot was significantly lower than those of the
DOME pot (qc = 14.73, p < 0.05) and DOME-T pot (qc = 14.50,
 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209 205

Fig. 3. Number of P. pelagicus and C. japonica inside BOX, DOME and DOME-T pots in a pond for 7 days.

p < 0.05), while those of the two DOME pots were not sig- for both species (Table 1) but there was no difference in the
nificantly different (qc = 1.47, p > 0.05). Similar results were duration of stay of P. pelagicus between BOX and DOME-T
obtained for both species. After 7 days (Fig. 3), only two crabs pots.
were lost from BOX pots, one P. pelagicus and one C. japonica During the pond trials, several organisms entered the non-
in days 2 and 4, respectively, where day 0 represents the day baited pots (Table 2). Octopus Octopus vulgaris and fish, mostly
the pots were first set on the bottom. These losses were from the catfish Plotosus lineatus, were found in the BOX pot, and
octopus predation and not from escape, as evident by the octo- both species of crab in the DOME and DOME-T pots. The crabs
pus presence inside the pot and the remains of the marked crab’s caught in the pots were easily differentiated from those placed
carapace. The crabs that died from predation were excluded from in the pots because the former were unmarked.
the escape rate statistical analysis. Crabs could easily escape
from DOME pots; all P. pelagicus had escaped by day 3 and
almost 80% of the C. japonica had escaped by the last day. One Table 1
marked P. pelagicus carapace was found near a DOME pot, but Escape rates for C. japonica and P. pelagicus according to pot type when placed
we could not tell if the crab was eaten inside the pot or not. in pond for 7 days
DOME-T pots retained more crabs than those without triggers, Crab species BOX DOME DOME-T
but their retention efficiency decreased because the triggers bent (slit) (open) (trigger)
after extended exposure to saltwater and were pushed outwards
P. pelagicus
by water currents or animal movements. Initial no. of crabs in pots 9 10 11
There were no escapes from BOX pots over 7 days (Table 1). No. of crabs remaining after 7 days 8 0 1
On the other hand, DOME pots had high escape rates; 100% of No. of crabs disappearing (dying) 0 (1a ) 10 10
P. pelagicus and 78% of C. japonica had escaped by the 7th day. Average days in pot 6.33* a 0.3a 1.82
The average residence inside the DOME pot was 0.3 days for Escape rate 0* 1 0.91
P. pelagicus and 2.61 days for C. japonica. The triggers on the C. japonica
DOME-T pot reduced escape to some extent. There were signifi- Initial no. of crabs in pots 23 23 19
No. of crabs remaining after 7 days 22 5 7
cant differences in residence times between the three pot designs
No. of crabs disappearing (dying) 0 (1a ) 18 12
(Krustal-Wallis t-test, X0.05,2
2 = 5.991, H = 42.14, p < 0.001). Average days in pot 6.83* 2.61 3.11
Crabs remained significantly longer inside the BOX pots than in Escape rate 0* 0.78 0.63
DOME pots (Nemenyi test: q0.05,∞,3 = 3.314, qc = 5.62, p < 0.05)
Escape rate = no. of crabs disappearing in 7 days/initial no. of crabs. Letter (a)
and DOME-T pots (qc = 4.88, p < 0.05), while the average num- show that differences were only found among those treatments.
ber of days in the DOME and DOME-T pots did not differ a Indicates that the crab loss was due to octopus predation.
* Indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) among treatments.
significantly (qc = 0.66, p > 0.05). Similar results were obtained
206 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209

Table 2
Number of organisms caught during the escape trials in pond according to pot type
Catch Pot type (entrance type) (no. pots seta )

BOX (slit) (32) DOME (open) (33) DOME-T (trigger) (30)

No. of organisms Range No. of organisms Range No. of organisms Range

(average size) (cm) (average size) (cm) (average size) (cm)

P. pelagicus 13 (11.4) 10.8–12.1 6 (11.0) 10.2–11.8

C. japonica 3 (9.4) 8.2–10.9 2 (9.0) 8.8–9.2
Octopus 2
Catfish 36 (17.4) 14.2–20.9
Goby 1 (6.1)
Scorpion fish 1 (8.6)
Japanese whiting 1 (19.7)
Sum 41 16 8
a No. of pots set combine those fishing P. pelagicus and C. japonica.

3.2. Tank experiment Table 3

Escape rates for C. japonica according to pot type when placed in tank for 7
days
We observed that C. japonica in the tank (Fig. 4) did not
escape from the BOX pot, even when incited to approach the Crab species Pot type (entrance type)
baited entrance, but did escape from the DOME pot voluntarily BOX (slit) DOME (open)
given time, and during the “escape test”.
C. japonica
As in the pond, the escape rate was zero for crabs in Initial no. of crabs in pots 15 15
the BOX pot and was significantly lower than in the DOME No. of crabs remaining after 7 days 15 7
pot (normal approximation to the binomial test; Z∞(2) = 1.960, No. of crabs escaping 0 8
Zc = 2.89, p < 0.0019; and also including crabs from the escape No. crabs escaping in “escape test” 0 4
test Zc = 4.10, p < 0.0001) (Table 3). The escape rate for crabs in Sum of crab escapees 0 12
Average days in pot 7 4.8*
the DOME pot in the tank (53%) was lower than that for crabs Escape rate (including sum of escapees) 0* 0.53 (0.80)
in the DOME pot in the pond (78%). The retention time inside
the BOX pot was also significantly longer than in the DOME Escape rate = no. of crabs escaping in 7 days/initial no. of crabs. Statistical tests
used were normal approximation to the binomials test and t-test.
pot (t-test; ttabulated = 2.14, tc = 3.28, p < 0.05) because no crabs * Indicates significantly lower value (p < 0.05).
could escape from the BOX pot.
The escape behavior of C. japonica was only recorded during
the “escape tests” of the DOME pot (Fig. 5). Crabs approached Conversely, half of the crabs taking the “escape test” in the
the baited entrance by crawling following the odor trail. Those DOME pot escaped within a few minutes by crawling onto the
reaching the BOX pot could only touch the bait by inserting entrance funnel and inserting one claw and the first walking leg
claws and legs through the net, but they could not pull the slit into the funnel opening and pulling themselves up, through the
net panels apart to make an opening that would allow them to opening, and into the entrance to reach the bait (Fig. 5, bottom).
reach the bait (Fig. 5, top). The escape behaviors and time to escape for four crabs (Table 4)

Fig. 4. Number of C. japonica inside BOX and DOME pots in a tank for 7 days. White bars show crabs remaining in pot after “escape test” (E).
 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209 207

Table 4
Escape times and behaviors for 4 individual C. japonica according to pot type when placed in tank during “escape test” for 1.5 h
Individual crab Pot type (entrance type)

BOX (slit) DOME (open)

Escape (yes/no) Escape behavior Escape (yes/no) Escape time (min) Escape behavior

Top Bottom Total Top Bottom Total

Crab A No 28 2 30 Yes 5.9 3 1a 4

Crab B No 0 2 2 Yes 1.5 1 1a 2
Crab C No 1 0 1 Yes 5.5 0 1a 1
Crab D No 19 1 20 Yes 1.3 1 1a 2
Average escape time (min) None 3.55
a Indicates successful escape strategy.

DOME 6 cm) allowed more small crabs to escape through the

Fig. 5. Escape behavior of C. japonica inside BOX and DOME pots in a tank
during “escape test”.
showed that after repeated attempts from top and bottom of the
entrances, crabs did not escape from the BOX pot, while the
same crabs approaching the DOME pot from below escaped in
a few minutes (average: 3.55 min, range: 1.3–5.9, Table 4).
4. Discussion
While the catching ability of the BOX pot was unaffected,
escapes from the DOME pot accounted for the loss of almost
40% of C. japonica and 80% of P. pelagicus from pots placed
in the pond for less than 24 h. This can explain in part why dur-
ing comparative fishing trials (Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara,
2005) the DOME pot caught only half the number of crabs com-
pared to the BOX pot. The different mesh sizes (BOX 2.3 cm,
larger meshes of the DOME pot. The open funnel entrances of
the DOME pot allowed more crabs to enter than the tight slits
of the BOX pot (Vazquez Archdale et al., 2003, 2006a) but were
also responsible for the high rate of escape.
Results of the pond experiment were corroborated by the
findings of the tank experiment, and there was little octopus
predation. High’s (1976) escape study showed a photograph of
an octopus engulfing a pot containing crabs. Yet it is difficult
to say how many crabs disappeared from the pots because of
predation. Only two octopus were caught in the BOX pot while
those entering the DOME pots could have easily escaped.
Escape from lost pots has been studied for the Dungeness crab
Cancer magister and blue crab Callinectes sapidus. In the for-
mer, 60% could escape within 28 days from cylindrical pots with
two entrance funnels equipped with triggers, and escape mostly
occurred during the first 2 days (Muir et al., 1984). High (1976)
found that 74% of C. magister could escape within 24 h from
similar pots when the triggers remained open (non-functional)
but only 45% of the legal-sized crabs (>15.9 cm CW) escaped
within 12 days when triggers were closed. C. sapidus escaped at
rates of 17% during the first week and 55% in the second week
from rectangular pots with two entrance funnels, and smaller
crabs (<12 cm CW) had higher chances of escape (Guillory,
1993). In the case of C. japonica, Kim and Ko (1987, 1990)
observed more escapes from pots when the entrances are near
the base, and escapes can be prevented by attaching “flappers”
to the entrances. The same studies established that doubling the
number of entrances from 2 to 4 increased both entry and, with
time, escape. No studies have been published on escape of crabs
from pots with slit entrances.
In our experiments, only one crab was placed in the pots,
because the typical catch is less than one crab per pot (Vazquez
Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005; Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b;
Gust and Inglis, 2006). The same applies to the portunid crab
Scylla serrata, which has been attributed to its aggressive behav-
ior and intimidation preventing other crabs from entering the
pots (Williams and Hill, 1982). Using several crabs per pot might
have given different results (Miller, 1979a,b, 1980, 1990; Smith
and Sumpton, 1989; Zhou and Shirley, 1997b,c). Antagonistic
encounters and intimidation between crabs placed in or around
208 M.V. Archdale et al. / Fisheries Research 85 (2007) 202–209
pots are common, and placing several crabs inside the pot might
have resulted in higher escape rates.
The effect of soaking time on the retention characteristics of
crab pots has been reported by Miller (1979a,b, 1990) and Zhou
and Shirley (1997a). The crab catch usually increases rapidly
during the first hours after setting a pot, but as time passes bait
attractiveness will decrease and the growing number of crabs
inside the pot may reach a level where they do not allow other
crabs to enter, and the pot becomes saturated. Normally escape
and entry rates of crabs will remain in balance for a while, but
later more crabs will leave the pots than go in. Our results showed
that the retention characteristics of BOX and DOME pots are
completely different; the former will keep the crab catch indef-
initely and, though not baited, will allow the entry of fish and
octopus, but the latter will permit crabs and other organisms to
escape and only crab conspecifics were attracted into the pots.
Using BOX or DOME pots for population surveys will give
completely different catch results; the effects of the different
designs on the catches of crabs and other organisms are large
over 1 day soaking (Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005;
Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b) and will increase further with
longer soaking times.
Entrance type affects entry as well as escape of the target
species. Open funnels allow for easy entry while slits are difficult
to pass through and need to be widened to gain access into the
pot. The slits act as non-return devices, and once an animal
is captured, escape is virtually impossible. However, funnels
remain open and, in most cases, the captured animals can find
the opening by trial and error then eventually escape. Triggers
installed in entrances are very effective at preventing escape of
crabs from pots (Miller, 1979a; High, 1976), while not deterring
them from entry (Salthaug, 2002). They can also be used to
retain larger crabs by adjusting the space between triggers and
allow undersized crabs to squeeze through and escape (Zou and
Shirley, 1997c). Our prototype plastic triggers were ineffective
at preventing escapes, but they could be easily improved by using
a stiffer grade of plastic.
The effect of mesh size on escape of crabs and by-catch from
the pots is not discussed here since the crabs employed were
too large to escape; this aspect has been covered in two previ-
ous studies (Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005; Vazquez
Archdale et al., 2006b).
Some organisms were also caught in the pots set in the pond
even though they were not baited. The BOX pot caught many
catfish P. lineatus and a few octopus O. vulgaris. The P. lineatus
were probably caught by chance since they commonly enter
non-baited pots, and the O. vulgaris is obviously attracted to
crabs, their favorite prey. The DOME and DOME-T pots only
caught other crabs, and these could have been attracted into the
pots by pheromones released by their conspecifics (Eales, 1974;
Gleeson, 1980).
During an eradication program, when the deployment of
many pots is necessary, the impact of the fishing gear on the
local fauna must be assessed. Though the BOX pot may seem the
most desirable because it does not allow any crabs to escape, it
catches many small crabs and non-target organisms (by-catch),
causing them stress (Vazquez Archdale and Kuwahara, 2005;
Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b). This pot, if lost at sea, can
continue to catch unattended in the fishing ground for up to
15 years, which is the average lifetime of a pot according to
the fishermen, and damage the resources by ghost fishing. The
DOME pot, equipped with a smaller mesh size (2.3 cm) was
more effective than the BOX pot at catching crabs (Vazquez
Archdale et al., 2006b) and its open funnel entrances will allow
more animals to escape if lost at sea. The DOME pot is the
best pot for eradication of crabs when fished for short soaking
times (<24 h) and with sufficient bait to maintain feeding by the
caught crabs until the time of hauling. Escape could be easily
reduced by installing effective triggers or shutters, as in Scottish
creels (Thomas, 1956), but the possible negative effects of ghost
fishing by reducing escape from lost gear should be considered.
For commercial exploitation of swimming crabs, we recom-
mend the DOME pot since it catches few non-target organisms
and does not retain small crabs due to its open entrances and
large meshes (Vazquez Archdale et al., 2006b). BOX pots are
commonly used throughout Southeast Asia to catch crabs, but
this pot should only be used if equipped with escape rings, as
those installed in pots for C. sapidus (Eldridge et al., 1979),
that allow escape of undersized crabs and non-target organ-
isms. Biodegradable netting panels (Hébert et al., 2001) and time
releases (Gagnon and Boudreau, 1991) that open some part of
the pot after a predetermined time have also been used to reduce
ghost fishing. In their current configuration, the BOX pots will
adversely affect fishery resources by causing unnecessary dam-
age and stress through handling, and mortality by ghost fishing.
Further research on crab eradication should combine several
aspects of control suitable for an integrated pest manage-
ment approach (Lafferty and Kuris, 1996), which may include
the development of better fishing gear and methods for their
removal, the creation of a new fishery where there is no tradition
for eating these edible crabs, improving the habitat, spawning
substrate and numbers of natural predators like octopus, and
perhaps the careful use of species-specific parasites which are
known to castrate or reduce growth rates of introduced crabs
(Lafferty and Kuris, 1996; Miller et al., 2006).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Drs. Gunzo Kawamura and Kazuhiko
Anraku, from our Lab., and Dr. Graeme Inglis and Ms. Aroha
Miller, from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research (Marine Biosecurity), Christchurch, New Zealand. We
are grateful for the excellent advice and comments from the edi-
tor and two anonymous reviewers, which greatly improved the
original manuscript.
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