Aspects in spawning biology and migration of the mud crab Scylla olivacea in the Andaman Sea, Thailand

Spawning biology and migration of the mud crab, Scylla olivacea (Herbst), in the Andaman Sea were examined from November 2002 to March 2004 at Klong Ngoa Mangrove area, Ranong Province, Thailand. Mature females were dominant from July to November. The changes in monthly gonadosomatic index of females ranged from 1.9 (+/- 3.3) to 8.2 (+/- 5.8) and size at first maturity was 9.4 cm internal carapace width (ICW). Fecundity (F) correlated ICW according to F=3.02 xICW(2.98). A total of 1013 female crabs were double tagged with spaghetti and bottom tags. The recaptured rate was 36.7% and showed that females migrated from coastal area to the open sea during the spawning season. A closed season during the north-east monsoon season and a minimum legal ICW size of 10 cm are recommended for sustainable management of the fishery.