Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are distributed along western Atlantic coastlines from Nova Scotia to Argentina (Casler et al. 2011). Two differenciated populations have been determined according to mitochondrial DNA, one from the USA to and including Venezuela, whereas the second is distributed from Brazil to Argentina (Santos and D'Incao, 2004 in (Alaniz Rodrigues et al. 2017)). There is limited conclusive understanding regarding genetic stock structure for blue crab (Miller et al. 2011; Hutardo et al. 2018).

In Brazil, the species is captured by artisanal fleets near shore and in inland lagoons, with a proposal for a management plan dividing the resource into a North and Northeast Brazil management unit and another for Southeast and South (Neto and Metri 2011). The Management Plan is not yet in place, so a single Management Unit for the whole Brazil waters is considered. No regular assessments or biological stock studies have been found.