SPECIES COMPOSITION AND SPATIO-TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRABS IN ZHOUSHAN FISHING GROUND AND ITS ADJACENT AREAS
舟山渔场及邻近海域蟹类种类组成和时空分布

Based on data from the comprehensive investigation of marine ecosystem in August, 2006 and January, May, and November 2007, we use catch rate as the index for quantitative distribution of crabs, and analyze the changes of species composition and quantitative distribution of crabs in 29°30′—32°00′N, west of 127°00′E in the Zhoushan fishing ground and adjacent waters. Results show that there are 43 species of crabs being identified in the survey area, belonging to 10 families and 21 genera. The main dominants, Ovalipes punctatus, Charybdis bimaculata, Portunus trituberculatus, Charybdis japonica, Portunus sanguinolentus, Matuta planipes, however, account for 94.58% of the total catch. Compared to the results of the crab resource survey in the East China Sea in 1990s, the species composition and dominant species have not changed. In autumn, Zhoushan fishing ground has the highest CPUE, and in summer, it’s in the Jiangwai fishing ground. The highest catch of crabs is in the north of Zhoushan fishing ground and the Yangtze estuary fishing ground.