Distribution of berried female blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus Linneaus, 1758) in the coastal waters of Trang province, southern Thailand

The distribution of berried female blue swimming crabs (Portunus pelagicus) was studied on the coast of southern Thailand in Trang province between Talibong Island and Had
Chao Mai National Park. Crab data were gathered using crab gill nets 1.5 m wide and 1,200 m long. Six sets of nets were placed 300 m apart. Crab samplings were done in April, August, October and December 2011. Berried females accounted for 12.1, 3.9, 29.7 and 9.5 % of the total catch in April, August, October and December respectively, while they accounted for 29.2, 8.7, 55.0 and 4.4 % of the female catch in the same time period. The percentage of berried females carrying orange, yellow and black eggs were 50.0%, 31.8% and 18.2% respectively. Berried female crabs were found in the depth of 2.8-13.3 m where the grain size of the bottom sediment was smaller than 425 µm.