Movements of tagged king crabs Paralithodes camtschatica (Tilesius

Movements of tagged king crabs Paralithodes camtschatica (Tilesius

IVOVEMENTS OF TAGGED KING CRABS
Paral ithodes camtschat ica (Tilesius) IN
THE KOD IAK ISLAND
REG ION OF ALASKA,
- LOWER COOK
1954 - 1963
By :
.
.
G u y C Powell and Rlchard E Reynolds
Division of Biological Research
Koaiak, Alaska
April 3 0 , 1965
lNLE3
MOVEMENTS OF TAGGED KZNG CRABS Paralithodes camtschatica
(Tilesius) I N THE KODIAK ISLAND
-
LOWER COOK INLET REGION OF ALASKA, 1954-1963
Guy C, Powell, Fishery Biologist
and
Richard E. Reynolds, Fishery Biologist
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Division of Biological Research
Kodiak, XLaska
During the period 1954 t o 1962, 21,078 juvenile and a d u l t king
crabs of both sexes, between 75 and 190 mm, i n carapace length, were marked
with permanent t a g s and released a t numerous locations i n t h e Kodiak Island
Lower Cook I n l e t region of Alaska, Subsequent migration data were obtained
from t h e recovery of 6,922 tagged crabs reported by the c o m e r c i a l f i s h i n g
f l e e t , During l a t e winter and e a r l y spring adult male crabs t r a v e l e d from
deep t o shallow water generally moving landward, This movement i s r e l a t e d
t o spawning, which i s known t o occur i n l e s s than 40 fathoms of water during March, April and e a r l y May, After breeding, crabs r e t u r n t o deep water
u n t i l the next spawning seaso:l, The king crabs e x i s t i n g i n the Kodiak IslandLower Cook I n l e t area appear t o be organized i n t o s i x populations. Movements
of mature females a r e similar t o those o f the adult male. Juvenile king
crabs probably do not t r a v e l as extensively as adults u n t i l t h e i r f i f t h o r
s i x t h year,
-
Commercial exploitation of AlaslcaTsking crab stocks has increased
considerably during t h e past decade, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e Kodiak Island-Lower
Cook I n l e t region, I n 1951, the commercial catch i n t h i s area was 20 thousand crabs, By 1963 production had increased t o 5.7 million crabs, I n t e l l i gent management of t h i s resource i s e s s e n t i a l f o r maximum sustained harvest
and depends on a thorough knowledge of the crabTs life history,
This paper presents migration data of 2 1 t a g and recapture s t u d i e s
Lower Cook I n l e t area from 1954 t o 1963, by
conducted i n the Itodiak Island
t h e Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U,S, Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries, Migration data of both agencies has been combined i n t h i s r e p o r t
t o provide one convenient summary of crab movements, Preparation of t h i s
manuscript was f a c i l i t a t e d by the memorandum of understanding i n i t i a t e d i n
1961 between the United S t a t e s Fish and WildJ-ife Service and t h e Alaska
Department of Fish and Game whereby t h e Alaska Department of Fish and Game
assumed r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the recovery of a l l f e d e r a l l y tagged crabs i n
t h e Kodiak Island area, The pr2sentation of t h i s data has been simplified
and shortened by omitting voJ-uminous catch information. Althorn individual
-
area catches are not presented here they have been analyzed and a r e on f i l e , -I-/
Several l i m i t a t i o n s a r e inherent i n a t a g and recapture program,
The most important single point t o consider i s t h a t the majority of t a g
recoveries a r e necessarily from the commercial f i s h i n g f l e e t and cannot
be regarded a s random samples of the various populations under investigation.
More s p e c i f i c a l l y , f i s h i n g e f f o r t i s t y p i c a l l y concentrated. Areas of harvest change with the seasons, deep water i n summer and shallow water i n the
spring. Consequently, a t any one time a portion of the investigated king
crab stocks on t h e submerged continental shelf were not being sampled and
crab movements could have occurred which were not detected by t a g returns.
This was especially t r u e i n ocean areas where a sporadic f i s h e r y e x i s t s only
during the summer months when weather i s r e l a t i v e l y calm, Shoreward areas
of the continental shelf have been more intensively fished and explored with
t h e r e s u l t t h a t c e r t a i n areas have proved h i s t o r i c a l l y t o be more productive
than others.
Anothen l i m i t i n g f a c t o r i s t h a t only adult male king crabs g r e a t e r
than 7 inches i n carapace width a r e retained by the United S t a t e s conu-~~ercial
fishery, Althowh females and sub-legal sized males have been tagged i n t h e
Kodiak area, concentrations of those crabs are avoided by the fishermen and
l i t t l e data has been obtained from t a g returns t o define t h e i r movements,
Japanese and Russian b i o l o g i s t s were the f i r s t t o study king crab
movements, They conducted tagging and re capture programs on Asiatic stocks
a t l e a s t a s e a r l y as 1922 (Marukawa, 1933; Vinogradov, 1945) , Tagging on
American stocks began i n the Eastern Bering Sea i n 1954 p r e c i p i t a t e d a s a
r e s u l t of increased Japanese and American f i s h i n g i n t h i s location following
World War 11. William C. Herrington, Special Assistant f o r Fisheries and
l J i l d l i f e t o the Under Secretary, requested f o r t h e United S t a t e s t o t h e
International Mort11 P a c i f i c Fisheries Commission on February 6, 1954 t h a t
a study of king crab i n t h e Bering Sea be i n i t i a t e d . The Bmeau of Commerc i a l Fisheries Biological Laboratory i n S e a t t l e , Washington (then P a c i f i c
Salmon Investigations) was assigned t h i s study f o r t h e United States,
Migration data collected by both countries since 1954 are reported by the
International North Pacific Fisheries Commission i n i t ' s annual reports f o r
t h e years 1955 through 1961. Other tagging investigations of king crabs i n
Alaska were i n i t i a t e d near the Shumigan Islands by the Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries (Hayes and Montgomery, 1963), and a l s o by the University of Southern
California i n Cook I n l e t (Bright, Durham and Knudsen, 1961)METHODS
History of King Crab T a g g i q
Prior t o 1954, tagging programs were conducted exclusively with
temporary tags because permanent tags had not been developed. I n 1954,
l,/
-
Alaska Depsrtment of Fish and Game
- Subport
Building, Juneau, Alaska
Ed Huizer, while studying king crab molting f o r t h e Alaska Department of
F i s h e r i e s , s u c c e s s f u l l y determined how t o t a g k i n g crabs so t h a t t h e t a g s
would be r e t a i n e d throughout successive molts (Alaska F i s h e r i e s Board and
Alaska Department of F i s h e r i e s , 1955) , Simultaneously he developed t h e
f i r s t isthmus loop t a g using hollow, colored, g l a s t i c tubing. Crabs marked
with t h e s e t a g s have s i n c e remained f r e e i n t h e ocean f o r p e r i o d s i n excess
of s i x years before being captured (Powell, 1964). The design of t h e loop
t a g has been modified s e v e r a l tirnes during i t s continued use by t h e United
S t a t e s s i n c e 1954 with t h e exception of 1960 when carapace d a r t s were used
(Powell, 1964)- The h i s t o r y of t h e develosment of k i n g crab t a g s i s desc r i b e d i n d e t a i l by Gray (1964)"
Tagging i n t h e V i c i n i t y of Kodiak I s l a n d
Tagging programs i n t h e Kodiak I s l a n d a r e a of Alaska from 1954
through 1957 were p i l o t s t u d i e s conducted on a small s c a l e . Their value
c o n s i s t s p r i m a r i l y i n t h e background information they provide f o r subsequent i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , During t h i s period, tagged crabs were l i b e r a t e d i n
small numbers a t s e v e r a l l o c a t i o n s , Returns were l i m i t e d by t h e absence o f
an extensive commercial f i s h e r y ,
Most crabs were tagged aboard c h a r t e r e d f i s h i n g v e s s e l s and l i b erated immediately a f t e r being caught, Exceptions were those r e l e a s e s i n
Chinialc Bay (1959), Marmot Bay (1959) , and t h e Twoheaded I s l a n d d i s t r i c t
(1960), These crabs were r e t a i n e d i n c i r c u l a t i n g s e a water f o r one t o t h r e e
days before r e l e a s e ,
Specimens f o r tagging a r e cactured p r i m a r i l y with l a r g e b a i t e d p o t s
s u p e r i o r t o t r a w l s because l e s s i n j u r y i s incurred,
After 1958 tagging programs were enlarged and improved, More
tagged crabs were r e l e a s e d i n each a r e a with sfilphasis on t h e commercially
valuable a d u l t male, ar?a more advanced tagging and recovery techniques were
employed. Even g r e a t e r r e t u r n s r e s u l t e d due t o increased e f f o r t by t h e
expanding commercial f i s h e r y , I n addition, b e t t e r t a g m a t e r i a l s were used
r e s u l t i n g i n reduced t a g l o s s ,
The r e s u l t of improved p l a s t i c tubing and legend d i s c i s seen by
comparing recoveries from the 1958 and 1959 tagging programs i n Chiniak Bay.
I n 1958, 2,467 crabs were tagged and r e l e a s e d , Five years l a t e r , 13 p e r c e n t
had been recovered, I n 1959, 3,260 crabs were marked with improved m a t e r i a l s
only. Four years l a t e r 35 percen? had been recaptured, The i n c r e a s e d r a t e
of t a g recovery i s a t t s i b u t e d p r i m a r i l y t o reduced t a g l o s s r e s u l t i n g from
improved t a g m a t e r i a l s , Fishing i n t e n s i t y i s not considered a major cont r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s i n c e both s t u d i e s were conducted i n Chinialc Bay which i s
small and where harvest remained relati-;.ely s t a b l e .
From 1954 t o 1959 rnale and female
i n carapace length were tagged and r e l e a s e d
c i a l f l e e t expanded, boa-cs v e n t u r ~ df u r t h e r
extend tagging programs t o ocean a r e a s near
majority of a l l crabs tagged ciu~iilg1-9GU t o
king crabs l a r g e r t h a n 75 mm,
within t h e bays, A s t h e commerseaward making it p o s s i b l e t o
t h e c o n t i n e n t a l slope. The
1961 were r e l e a s e d i n ocean
a r e a s (Table 1 ) .
A l l were a d u l t males over 135 rnm. i n carapace length.
T ~ F Recovery
T
A l l tagged crabs were recovered by t h e commercial f i s h e r y .
Accurate capture information and high percent recovery were made p o s s i b l e
by c o n t i n u a l close personal contact with fishermen and cannery employees.
A t t h e more a c c e s s i b l e canneries r o u t i n e personal interviews were conducted
with fishermen a s t h e i r boats were unloaded, A t i s o l a t e d canneries and
f a c t o r y s h i p s cooperating people were v i s i t e d f r e q u e n t l y by b i o l o g i s t s t o
i n s u r e continued a s s i s t a n c e . A cash reward of two d o l l a r s was p a i d f o r each
tagged crab turned i n , A l l boats were supplied with research c h a r t s , t a g
recovery forms, and s p e c i a l web s a c s f o r holding tagged crabs s e p a r a t e from
t h e catch.
RESULTS
Commercial Harvest
-
The Kodialc I s l a n d
Lower Cook I n l e t region of Alaska i s divided
i n t o 203 d i f f e r e n t s t a t i s t i c a l a r e a s from which commercial catches a r e
recorded daily. The l a r g e r more seaward areas a r e c l e a r l y seen i n Figure 1.
Major king crab f i s h e r i e s e x i s t i n t h e following locations: A l i t a k , Twoheaded
- T r i n i t y , Chiniak-Marmo-2, and Lower Caok I n l e t . Figure 2 shows t h e number of
crabs caught i n t h e major f i s h e r i e s of Kodiak I s l a n d and Lower Cook I n l e t by
season f o r t h e period 1359-1963,
Movements
King crabs waUc in constant contact with t h e seabed of t h e contin e n t a l s h e l f and a r e captured from depths seldom exceeding 150 fathoms and
o f t e n a s shallow a s 5 fathoms. The t h r e e conspicuous bottom regions of t h e
c o n t i n e n t a l s h e l f adjacent t o Kodialc I s l a n d t o which king crab migrations
may be r e l a t e d a r e i l l u s t r a t e d I n Figure 3. Figures 4 and 5 show recovery
l o c a t i o n s f o r each of t h e major tagging programs l i s t e d i n T a b l e 1. h discussion of s p e c i f i c migrations follows.
J u v e n i l e kin^ crabs, Few j u v e n i l e k i n g crabs (under 100 mrn, i n
carapace length) have been tagged and only a small amount of d a t a i s a v a i l a b l e t o define t h e i r movemerrts. A general o u t l i n e of j u v e n i l e movements
determined by close observation of t h e commercial f i s h e r y and l i f e h i s t o r y
s t u d i e s i s presented below:
Planktonic l a r v a e hatch from eggs i n t h e s p r i n g and before s e t t l i n g
t o t h e bottom undergo metamorphosis t o t h e a d u l t crab form (Mamkawa, 1933).
The movements of crabs during planktonic l a r v a l s t a g e s a r e determined by
t h e combined e f f e c t s of wind, t i d e and water c u r r e n t (Hebard, 1959).
Table 1. King crab tagging p r o j e c t s conducted by U. S. Bureau of Commercial F i s h e r i e s
and Alaska Department of Fish and Game with annual recoveries, 1954-1963.
Kodiak Island-Lower Cook I n l e t , Alaska.
area
Release
agency
Number of
tagged crabs
released
males females
date
..
Seaward from
Marmot Bay USBCF
July-Sept
3.962
Seaward from
Chiniak Bay USBCF
July-Sept,
1962
.
July-Sept .
USBCF
1962
South of
July-Sep t
Sitkinak Bay USBCF
1962
South of
Tugidak Is.
July-Sept ,
E a s t of
Chirikof Is. USBCF
196 2
U i t a k Bay
Lower Cook
Inlet
ADFhG
USBCF
Cape Douglas ADFGrG
August
196 1
September
196 1
1504
-
185
12%
-
185
-
-
172
1344
-
172
-
118
-
13%
85
55
19q3
I
-
-
-
1918
-
Data not a v a i l a b l e
July
1961
55
68
-
275
10
&'
468
323
23 2
30
23
48
Twoheaded
Island
EdF&G
October
1960
Chiniak Bay
ADFhG
September
19 59
Marmot Bay
Number & percent
Nwnber of tagged crabs recovered each
05 tagged crabs
year or p o r t i o n of a year (through A p r i l
recovered through
1963) following tagging, beginning with
April, 1963
month of r e l e a s e
males females
first second t h i r d f o u r t h f i f t h s i x t h
ADF&G September
1959
-
-
-
-
-
-
Table 1 (Continued)
Number of tagged crabs recovered each
Nwnber & percent
year or portion of a year (through April
of tagged crabs
recovered through 1963) following tagging, beginning with
April, 1963
month of release,
males females
f i r s t second t h i r d fourth f i f t h s i x t h
date
Number of
tagged crabs
released
males females
Chiniak Bay ADF&G
June
1958
2467
Alitak Bay
Jan,
1958
105
-
16
15%
Nov.
19 57
3 18
-
79
2 5%
Oct.
19 57
53
-
7
13%
Feb,
1957
29
Area
Marmot Bay
Release
agency
AI)FGLG
ADF&G
Chiniak Bay ADF&G
iUitakBay
ADFEtG
Perenosa Bay ADFGLG
March &
J u l y 1956
Chiniak Bay ADFGLG
A l i t a k Bay
Marmot Bay
ADFG
NDF&G
Chiniak Bay ADF&G
257
Oct
1955
.
203
Dec,
106
1954
31
281
Sept.
1956
6
0
0
0
0
17
40
20
2
0
3
2
2
0
0
0
42
15%
-
0
I
11
-
27
5
4
2
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
143
4.00
763
966
36
I42
Totals
30%
Number of tagged crabs recovered through June, 1963.
Carapace d a r t t a g s were not retained through ecdysis.
3/ 67 recoveries from the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Lower Cook I n l e t program i n 1961 a r e divided
equally between t h e f i r s t and second year a f t e r release,
-2l/
J
-
(-.
'
Sl
200
17
10
163
192
March
1956
-
Young crabs which have s e t t l e d t o the seabed begin t h e i r existence
as s o l i t a r y individuals l i v i n g under rocks and debris, In t h e i r second and
t h i r d year of l i f e , crabs begin t o congregate and move actively, After
reaching puberty and a t about 100 t o 110 mm. i n carapace length (5-6 years
of age) crabs a r e believed t o extend t h e i r range and begin an annual cycle
of movements t y p i c a l of the adult.
It appears t h a t the shallows near land predominate as s e t t l i n g and
rearing areas f o r juveniles and t h a t ocean areas a r e inhabited primarily by
adults
.
Adult female king crabs, One thousand one hundred eighty s i x mature
Lower
female king crabs were tagged during 1954 t o 1958 i n t h e Kodiak Island
Cook I n l e t area. One hundred Thirty nine of these tagged crabs have been
recaptured and analysis of the data indicates t h a t movements a r e similar t o
those of t h e i r male counterparts. Observations of the commercial f i s h e r y
show t h a t mature male and female king crabs t r a v e l i n segregated but not
widely separated groups except during the spawning season.
-
--
Adult male king cyabs, The d i s t r i b u t i o n of adult male king crabs
i s most closely r e l a t e d t o depth and time of year, Related environmental
and physiological f a c t o r s a r e believed instrumental i n regulating movements,
During l a t e winter anc early spring adult male crabs move from
the depths t o shallow water and appear t o use the valleys or depressions i n
t h e ocean f l o o r as t r a v e l routes (Figure 3). This movement i s termed t h e
"spawning migration" since it i s correlated with breeding which i s known t o
occur i n l e s s than f o r t y fathoms of water during March, April and e a r l y May.
The direction of the spawning migration depends upon t h e location of t h e
shallow areas, and t h e distance upon bottom configurations of each p a r t i c u l a r
area involved,
After breeding, crabs return t o deep water where they remain f o r
approximately another s i x months u n t i l *he next spawning season.
Tag r e t u r n data shows t h a t separate crab stocks e x i s t i n t h e Kodiak
Island
Cook I n l e t area. Five boundary l i n e s have been drawn t o i l l u s t r a t e
t h i s separation and are shown i n Figures 4 and 5, The recovery data shows
t h a t tagged crabs l i b e r a t e d i n one area a r e r a r e l y recovered i n another,
A discussion of migrations f o r s p e c i f i c areas i s discussed next,
-
-
Marmot, Since 1953, two major tagging programs have been
Chiniak
conducted i n t h e Chinid<-Marmo-t location, northeast of Kodiak Island. During
1958 and 1959, 5,735 king crabs were tagged and released near shore i n Chiniak
Bay (Figure 4), and i n 1962, 2,848 legal-sized crabs were tagged i n two ocean
areas seaward from t h e e x i s t i n g commercial f i s h e r i e s i n Chiniak and Marmot
Bays (35 miles southeast of Cape Chiniak i n Chiniak G d l y and 25 miles e a s t
of Marmot Island (Figure 5). By 1963, a t o t a l of 1,829 tagged crabs had
been recovered from these programs, The locations of recovery f o r periods
January through June, and July -through December are i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figures
4 and 5. Tag recoveries which were recovered during January through June
r e s u l t i n g from both inshore and ocean releases were normally taken near shore
from shallow depths of l e s s Than C; fathoms, Many of t h e recoveries were
captured on t h e shallow bank (25 t o 50 fathoms) seaward from Chiniak and
f4arrrot Bays, betwezn t h e two offshore tagging locations, These recoveries
i n d i c a t e t h a t breeding movemen-ts t o shallow ocean areas and t o shallow bay
areas occvr from January t o April, Crabs tagged i n ocean areas t r a v e l t o
both inshore and ocean sha3.lows t o spawn but a r e r e l a t i v e l y more abundant
in t h e shallow ocean areas. Recoveries a l s o suggest t h a t a s bay crabs grow
they become more nonadic and venture seaward t o adopt ocean l i v i n g , I n recent
years, with boats f i s h i n g t3.e e n t i r e continental shelf i n t h i s area, crabs
released inshore have been czptured 60 miles seaward, and conversely, crabs
tagged i n t h e ocean cn t h e edge of t h e continental slope have Been recaptured
60 miles shoreward,
Inshore : m o t ?
$
J
.
, m52,
In 1959, 647 tagged crabs, predominately
juveniles and young zdults, were l i l e r a t e c l i n t h e inshore Marmot-Kizhuyak Bay
area (Figi~xe41, By H63, 128 crabs :.XI been rccnptured, i n d i c a t i n g a t y p i c a l
anrxal mil;rator> cyc1.e from deep t o shallow water but unlike cpabs i n other
areas of Itodiak Island did not venture seaward but r a t h e r confined t h e i r
movexents t o the bay system .inshore or traveled westward i n t o nearby Shelikof
Straits.
---
M i t z k , In 196L, 5.976 taggcd crabs were released i n t h e Alitak
location and within 2 :.RZTS 3 r227?-cr3.h~hzd been recovered. A l l but 26 crabs
were recovered i n the AL5t;k r5~-._ct:lor.,St-eying movements outside t h i s f i s h ery ace minor and c m i 2 ted f w n :.:igu?e 4 ro avoid confusion. Twenty-five of
the so-called s t r a y s :]eye r e c ~ e r e d%n the area immediately e a s t of t h e
a r b i t r a r y 1Lne conne citing G ~ i r i k o fIs1znd, Sitkinak Island and Aliulik Peninsula, 2nd t h e other - ' 3 3 t!!~ wes? across Shelikof S t r a i t (Figure 4). I n both
these adjacent areas sizezb?-4 cainmercial fisheries e x i s t , suggesting t h a t i f
more s t r a y i n g had occurr.id a g r z a t ~ rnuinber of recoveries would have been
s
t h a t the populations of king crabs a r e not
captured, T a g r a t r ~ ~ nindicn-2e
e n t i r e l y i s o l a t e d but t k a t 2 cs-?tain arr,ount of intermingling occurs a t t h e
r-ri.?::eries,
p a r t i e l l a r l - y i n t h e Sitkina?. Island d i s t r i c t . Over a longer
period of t i n e a ~ r e a t e rmo7mt of intermingling may occur between adjacent
p o u p s pcssibly 2zpend~ntt o some extent upon i n t e n s i t y of harvest,
Tbe Alital: program has contributed much t o our knowledge of annual
::.ications primarily because it supports a large f i s h e r y and has l a r g e adjacent f i s h e r i e s . Alitak, l i k e Lower Cock I n l e t , i s dissimilar t o other loca?ien_s i n t h i s region by having an expanse of shallow water. Migrating crabs
z u s t , t h e r e f n r e , t r a v e l f a r t h e r (often 50 miles) i n order t o reach deep o r
sllallow water, Areas of deep water a r e more r e a d i l y accessible i n t h e other
_'_ocations.
In the e a r l y years of commercial harvest i n Alitak catches were
l w t e d during July-December because boats were too s m a l l t o f i s h offshore
i n deep water. I n the 1959-1960 f i s h i n g season, the commercial catch during
July-December (v7?.en king crabs are i n deep water, see t h e locations of t a g
r.ei;vrns from t h i s area i n Figure 4) was 179,283 crabs and during t h e period
Jaruary through June (when the crabs i t h a b i t shallow water near shore and
a r e available t o t h e small crab bozts) was 671,851 crabs, The trend was
reversed when l a r g e r vessel-s h-gan t o f i s h offshore, In t h e 1962-63 f i s h i n g
season during t h e period July throcgh December t h e commercial catch was
1,156,587 crabs from oc2an areas c;nd during t h e period January through June
was only 203,970 crabs from ishore areas.
---
Lower Cook I n l e t . Crab movements i n Lower Cook I n l e t were determined f ~ o mrecoveries of the Cape Douglas tagging of 1961. Tagging a few
miles e a s t of Cape Douglas immediately south of the i n l e t i n 95 fathoms
revealed t h a t migrations are similar t o those of A l i t d c i n t h a t they a r e
l o c a l i z e d with deep-to-shallow and reverse movements occurring d e z i n i t e times
of the year. Crabs which occupied deep water i n summer, l a t e r occupied t h e
northern shallows around Augustine Island and i n Kachemak Bay a s well a s t h e
western shallows along t h e Alaskan Peninsula. Crabs were harvested from
shallow water during February through June.
Recoveries one year a f t e r tagging were made a t t h e location of
release indicating f u r t h e r t h a t the crabs returned t o the deep water location
of Liberation or t h a t some had remained i n deep water the e n t i r e year, or a
combination of both.
The migration of t h i s body of crabs reveals t h a t stocks a r e a v a i l able t o both f l e e t s of I(odiak Island r e g i s t r a t i o n area and Cook I n l e t area.
-
Other tagging programs. Results of the Twoheaded Island tagging
of October 1960 show large scale shoreward movements t o shallow water beginning
December (Powell, 1964). Tag recoveries from adjacent T r i n i t y Islands and
ChirikofIsland a l s o reveal shoreward movements of ocean crabs f u r t h e r supporting inshore-offshore movements r a t h e r than alongshore t r a v e l . Lack of an ocean
fishery i n t h i s Location makes it d i f f i c u l t t o study movements i n ocean areas.
We wish t o express sincere appreciation t o the United S t a t e s Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries personnel f o r consenting t o include t h e i r tagging
data i n t h i s report. Special thanks are due t o D r . Murray.Hayes, d i r e c t o r
of t h e Ketchikan Food Technology Laboratory and previous biometrician a t
Auke Bay Research Laboratory who a s s i s t e d considerably i n editing, and t o
D r . James B. Kirkwood, king crab program supervisor, Auke Bay Research Laboratory.
LITERATURE CITED
.
ALASKA FISHERIES BOARD AND ALASKA DEPARTPENT OF FISHERIES
(19 55) Alaska
Department of Fisheries Annual Report f o r 1954. Alaska Fisheries
Board and Alaska Department of Fisheries, Report No. 6 , 92 p,
BRIGHT, DONALD B. , FLOYD E. DURHAM, and JENS W. KNUDSEN. (1960) King Crab
Investigations of Cook I n l e t , Alaska. Department of Biology,
Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California a t
Los Angeles, 180 p.
(Processed)
GRAY, GEORGE If. (1964) Tag l o s s during ecdysis by the king crab Paralithodes
camtschatica (Tilesius). Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 93: 303-4.
GRAY, GEORGE CV.
(1964) Tags f o r marking king crabs,Paralithodes camtschatica
Progressive Fish-Culturist ( I n Press)
(Tilesius)
.
.
HAYES, MURRAY L., and DONALD T, MONTGOMERY.
(1962) Movements of tagged
king crabs from offshore releases, Shumagin Island area, 1957-62.
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, A u k e Bay Biological Laboratory,
Auke Bay, Alaska. Manuscript Report 9. August 1962. p 1-10.
HEBARD, JAMES F. (1959) Currents i n southeastern Bering Sea and possible
Fisheries
e f f e c t s upon king crab larvae. Special S c i e n t i f i c Report
No. 293. pp. 11.
-
MARWAWA, HISATOSHI, (1933) Biological and f i s h e r y research on t h e Japanese
king crab Paralithodes camtschatica (Tilesius). Journal of t h e
Imperial Fisheries Experimental Station, Tokyo, 4 (37): 152 pp.
( I n Japanese with English abstract)
.
POWELL, GUY C.
(1964) Fishing mortality and movements of adult male king
crabs Paralithodes camtschatica (Tilesius) released seaward from
Kodi* Island, Alaska. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 93 (3) : 295-300.
(1964) Tagged king crab recaptured s i x years a f t e r r e l e a s e
POhXLL, GUY C.
i n the North Pacific. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc, 94(1), pg, 95.
(1945) The yearly cycle i n the l i f e and migration of crab
VINOGRADOV, L. G.
i n the northern p a r t of the west Kamchatlca shelf. Tilhoolceanskii
Nauchno-Issledovatelskii I n s t i t u t Rybnogo Khoziaistva i Olceanografii
I z v e s t i a 19 : 3-54.
(In Russian)
.
.
Figure 1 . - - S t a t i s t i c a l c a t c h areas o f Kodiak I s l a n d
region o f Alaska.
-
Lower Cook I n l e t
Jay-Deceder
. January-June
c3KDmx
T3RZMPTY
Flgaare 2, C0mercia4. catch 0% king crabs from KO&&
major p~oductionarea, 1959-1963.
Island
-
COOK
3ChZET
Lowel: C00k Z n l e t region by season and
1
L
e
3.
Sllbmerged cont_;r. - n Aa1 shelf of Kodiak Island,
11 l u s t r a t i n ? major depth regions.
RELEASE
TAG
LOCATION
-
RECOVERIES
(1) J A N U A R Y ARBITRARY
JUNE
SEPARATION
OFSTOCKS-
------
Figure 4.--Migratory pattern showing direction and distance
from lnshore release locations, Kodiak Island Lower Cook Inlet, 1954-1961, illustrating segregation of stocks.
RELEASE
LOCATION
TAG R E C O V E R i E S
1) J A N U A R Y - J U N E
21 J U L Y - D E C E M B E R
ARBITRARY
SEPARATION
Figure 5.--Migratory pattern showing direction and distance
from offshore release locations, Kodiak Island Lower Cook Inlet, 1961-1962, illustrating segregation of stocks.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game administers all programs and activities free from discrimination
based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability.
The department administers all programs and activities in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you desire
further information please write to ADF&G, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802-5526; U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 300 Webb, Arlington, VA 22203 or O.E.O., U.S.
Department of the Interior, Washington DC 20240.
For information on alternative formats for this and other department publications, please contact the
department ADA Coordinator at (voice) 907-465-6077, (TDD) 907-465-3646, or (FAX) 907-465-6078.