Fishery and growth parameters of the blue swimmer crab Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) along the Mandapam coast, India

The blue swimmer crab Portunus pelagicus is a commercially important marine crab of India. Among the maritime states, Tamil Nadu ranks first in P. pelagicus landings for the past several years and a good fishery exists along the Mandapam coast in the present paper, the fishery, size composition, probability of capture, yield per recruit, mortality rates and growth of the species are discussed. Considering the results, management options are suggested for the optimum exploitation of blue swimmer crabs along the Indian coast.