LOUISIANA BLUE CRAB FULL

Blue crabs also play a key role in managing the populations of the animals they prey on, and constant overharvesting has had wide-ranging negative effects on the ecosystems they inhabit. Population Declinesīlue crabs are extremely sensitive to environmental and habitat changes, and many populations, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay in the eastern United States, have experienced severe declines. They seem to prefer areas near or on oyster reefs, rock jetties or debris-cluttered bottoms, where they burrow in the mud for shelter, cold weather refuge and when molting their shell.

LOUISIANA BLUE CRAB FULL

They are also excellent swimmers, with specially adapted hind appendages shaped like paddles. Gulf stone crabs seem to prefer slightly higher salinities than blue crabs, from full strength sea water at 35 parts per thousand (ppt) down to 10 ppt. They feed on almost anything they can get hold of, including mussels, snails, fish, plants, and even carrion and smaller blue crabs. Large males can reach 9 inches in shell width. Close relatives of the shrimp and lobster, these bottom-dwelling omnivores have a prickly disposition and are quick to use their sharp front pincers. Their scientific name, Callinectes sapidus, means 'savory beautiful swimmer.' Habitat and Rangeīlue crabs are found in brackish coastal lagoons and estuaries from Nova Scotia, through the Gulf of Mexico, and as far south as Uruguay. Prized by humans for their sweet, tender meat, these wide-ranging, ten-legged crustaceans are among the most heavily harvested creatures on the planet. Its shell, or carapace, is actually a mottled brownish color, and mature females have red highlights on the tips of their pincers. The blue crab is so named because of its sapphire-tinted claws.

Louisiana blue crab