CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF SNOW CRAB (CHIONOECETES-OPILIO) PARTICIPATING IN THE ANNUAL BREEDING MIGRATION IN BONNE BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND

In 1984 breeding pairs were composed mainly of relatively large, old-shell animals of both sexes, but by 1988 much smaller animals, most of which were new-shell, dominated the migration. These changes are related to a rapid decline in what was characteristically a virgin population in 1984 and a coinciding strong pulse of recruitment into the breeding component of the population. A very high incidence of small, subcommercial males participating in the 1988 and 1989 breeding migrations demonstrates a capacity for maintaining a high level of reproductive potential in a snow crab population despite high exploitation rates on larger animals in the male-only fishery for this species. The strong recruitment pulse which occurred in Bonne Bay as the virgin population declined after 1984 also indicates a capacity for enhanced annual production within a snow crab population when exploitation rates are high. -from Authors