Profile updated on 12 September 2023
SCIENTIFIC NAME(s)
Callinectes sapidus
SPECIES NAME(s)
Blue crab
COMMON NAMES
Jaiba azul (Spanish)
The blue crab Callinectes sapidus has a broad latitudinal distribution, from Nova Scotia, to northern Argentina, including Bermuda and the Antilles. In the Gulf of Mexico, two stocks are considered to exist; an NE Gulf of Mexico stock along Florida state coast up to the Apalachee Bay, and an NW Gulf of Mexico stock occurring from Apalachicola Bay, Florida, to the west of the Gulf, based on genetic and phylogenetic analysis (GDAR 2013). Other studies however suggested no genetic structure in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Macedo 2017) or even with the North Atlantic (Neigel et al. 2020). In Mexican waters, where the population structure is unclear, the fishery occurs in 5 states: Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche and Yucatan (DOF 2022). The resource is captured as part of a multispecies fishery, with other three species of the genus Callinectes (DOF 2022).
Management Quality:
< 6
≥ 6
< 6