Blue Crab Investigations in the Upper Laguna Madre - Studies of Blue Crab Populations of the Texas Coast

Blue crabs were caught in conjunction with various fish sampling methods. There were sorted according to sex and measured to determine the annual variation in size and number of the crabs in the upper Laguna Madre. Crabs were rare in the winter months and practically none were caught after July 1962 when salinities passed 46 ppt. March and April were the best months for crabbing. Sponge crabs were common in the area in September 1962 and May 1962, but no evidence was found to indicate they spawned in the lagoon. It is concluded that crab abundance is related directly to salinity and that commercial crabbing would not be profitable in the Lagune Madre during dry years when salinity is highest.