Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management

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Abstract
For adult snow crabs (C. opilio), from the western Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern and western Cape Breton Island, and eastern Newfoundland [Canada], morphometric, meristic, electrophoretic, and fecundity characteristics were compared. Morphometric, meristic, fecundity data indicated that snow crabs from the 4 areas are morphologically and biologically distinct; they represent 4 phenotypic or biological stocks. The differences in morphology are probably due largely to environmental effects on growth during juvenile stages. The electrophoretic data indicate that Newfoundland and western Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crabs differ genetically from each other and from the Cape Breton Island snow crabs did not exhibit electrophoretic differences and represent a single genetic stock. Genetic exchange between Atlantic Canadian snow crab populations appears possible through larval dispersal. There is a widely different degree of resilience to exploitation and response to the same management strategy between eastern and western Cape Breton Island snow crab populations; a phenotypically and/or genotypically defined stock is not necessarily a useful management tool. Stocks may be subdivided into more meaningful management units that reflect intra-stock factors such as growth and recruitment patterns.

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