Internal Condition of a Diminishing Blue Crab Population (Callinectes sapidus)

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Abstract
Abundance of the blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, in Rhode Island estuaries has decreased during the last 30 years. A commercial fishery once existed in areas where the blue crab is no longer found. Composition of the plasma and muscle was studied to see if abnormalities could be recognized. Mean concentrations of total sugars, protein, non-protein nitrogen, phosphate, and chloride did not differ in crabs from two contrasting lagoons; the mean concentrations of lipids and total nitrogen were also independent of the population’s habitat. The concentration of sugars was atypically low compared with reports on crabs from North Carolina. In the plasma, total sugar concentration was directly related to its conductivity; the concentrations of non-protein nitrogen and phosphate were inversely related to chlorinity. Groups of such correlated tests have predictive value and, when further elaborated, they might be applied to the management of the fishery.

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