2017 Volume 83 Issue 2 Pages 156-162
The present study examined the proportion of the terminal molt and carapace width (CW) distribution of male snow crab Chionoecetes opilio in southern Tohoku, Japan. Samples were collected from landings caught by otter trawls operated off Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures from 2007 to 2010. The proportion of the terminal molt in males of 80-119 mm CW was higher in the area off Fukushima than that off Ibaraki. The CW of crabs off Miyagi and Fukushima was significantly smaller than that off Ibaraki. These results suggest the geographic variation in the size-related terminal-molt proportion and carapace width of the male snow crab off the Pacific coast of southern Tohoku, Japan.
