THE GULF-OF-MEXICO BLUE-CRAB FISHERY - HISTORICAL TRENDS, STATUS, MANAGEMENT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

During the 1990s, annual reported landings in the Gulf of Mexico comme rcial hard and soft blue crab fisheries averaged 62.05 x 10(6) pounds (2.82 x 10(6) kg) valued at $29.6 x 10(6) and 214,000 pounds (97,373 k g) worth $576,000, respectively. Recreational fishery landings are est imated to be up to 5% of commercial production. Accurate assessment of stock status and economic impact of the fishery is hindered by the la ck of reliable effort and harvest data from all components of the Gulf fishery. Fishery independent data sets from individual states show te mporal periodicity of settlement events are similar from year to year; however, the magnitude of settlement is highly variable. Trends in ca tch of early crabs and juveniles are not consistent from state to stat e. Postsettlement survival seems to be the determinant of eventual pop ulation size. Management strategies should be directed toward: (1) pol icies that address enhancement of juvenile survivorship: (2) collectio n of reliable effort and harvest data; (3) enforcement of sublegal cra b regulations; (4) protection of habitat; (5) stabilization or reducti on in fishing effort; and (6) resolution of user group conflicts.