First Findings of the Invasive Snow Crab Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius, 1788) (Decapoda, Oregoniidae) in the Eastern Kara Sea

Abstract

During cruise 89 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in September–October 2022, search for the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio were conducted in benthic communities of the Kara Sea using a Sigsby bottom trawl and the TUV Videomodule; as well, plankton samples were collected with a Bongo net in order to record crab larvae in the water column. Single large individuals of snow crab were found for the first time in the eastern Kara Sea, on a transect from the Voronin Trough towards the coast of Taimyr, starting at a depth of 490 m. At the same time, not a single crab larva was caught, which indicates penetration of mature crabs into these areas across the bottom. Conversely, in the western part of the sea and in Blagopoluchiya Bay, large numbers of all size groups of C. opilio on the bottom, as well as crab larvae in the water column, were observed. The differences in the speed and nature of the snow crab invasion are explained by the contrast in the ice conditions in the western and eastern Kara Sea. The snow crab population is likely to spread further in the eastern Kara Sea due to trends towards an increase in the ice-free period in the Arctic.