Northeast Florida Blue Crab Commercial Fisherman Fisheries Dependent Monitoring (FDM)

wooden boxes full of fish and blue crabs on a fishing vessel

Project beginning date: February 2019

Very little is known about the St. Johns River blue crab fishery in northeast Florida, despite the fact that the lower St. Johns River is one of the most productive blue crab fisheries in the state. The FWRI Crustacean Research Program implemented a project to supplement the Fisheries Independent Monitoring research, by collecting data directly from commercial blue crab fisher’s catch. With captain permission, FWRI biologists ride on board commercial vessels and collect data from crabs, on a subset of traps. This includes sex, reproductive state, exoskeleton condition, carapace width, body width, notes on any missing legs or fouling, and if the crab is kept or discarded. These data are then compared to FIM catch each month to understand differences in catch.

*To be part of this research, by allowing FWRI biologists on your commercial vessel, please contact Katharine.Becker@MyFWC.com or Samantha.Russo@MyFWC.com or call or text (850) 901-7051