Injuries as an Indicator of the Population Density and Fishing Intensity of Snow Crab (Chionoecetis opilio) in the Barents Sea

Abstract—

The article presents analyses of the dynamics of injuries of the snow crab opilio in catches taken during surveys in 2008–2022, as well as data collected by observers in the fishery for this species in the Russian part of the Barents Sea in 2014–2022. The average proportion of injured crabs in catches taken during research surveys increased from 5–11% in 2008–2010 to 45% in 2022. The increase in the number of injured individuals in catches is higher for large males. The modeling results showed that the increased proportion of injured individuals in the period preceding commercial exploitation is associated with an increase in intrapopulation interactions, while during active commercial exploitation, it is associated with fishing pressure on the population, when some individuals, including crabs injured during capture, are returned to the sea after processing.