HISTORY, MANAGEMENT, STATUS, AND TRENDS IN THE LOUISIANA BLUE-CRAB FISHERY

Regulations are summarized and fishing effort, harvest, and gear are d escribed for the Louisiana recreational and commercial hard and soft b lue crab (Callinectes sapidus) fisheries. Commercial hard and soft cra b production during the 1990s averaged 44.2 x 10(6) pounds (20.1 x 10( 6) kg) and 156,833 pounds (71,288 kg) valued at $22.4 x 10(6) and $466 ,333, respectively. Fishery-dependent data indicated a long-term decli ne in commercial catch rates, and fishery-independent trawl data displ ayed declining catch rate of legal blue crabs and mean size and increa sed catch rate of small juvenile blue crabs. Habitat loss, excessive f ishing effort, capture and harvest of sublegal crabs, ghost traps, and user group conflicts are currently the most critical issues. Other im portant issues include trap and crab thefts, import competition, inade quate documentation of effort and landings, and lack of funding for sc ientific research.