Editing Callinectes sapidus

{{short description|Species of crustacean}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Atlantic blue crab.jpg
| image_caption = Female from the collection of [[The Children's Museum of Indianapolis]]
| taxon = Callinectes sapidus
| authority = [[Mary J. Rathbun|Rathbun]], 1896
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
 |Lupa hastata|Say, 1817
 |Portunus diacantha|Latreille, 1825
 |Lupa diacantha|Milne-Edwards, 1834
 |Callinectes hastatus|Ordway, 1883
 }}
| synonyms_ref = &nbsp;<ref name="FAO">{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2632/en |title=Species Fact Sheet: ''Callinectes sapidus'' (Rathbun, 1896) |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |access-date=November 28, 2010}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Care Banks - Blue Crab - 01.JPG|thumb|Blue crab escaping from the net along the [[Core Banks]] of [[North Carolina]].]]

'''''Callinectes sapidus''''' (from the [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|κάλλος}},"beautiful" + {{Transliteration|grc|nectes}}, "swimmer", and [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|sapidus}}, "savory"), the '''blue crab''', '''Atlantic blue crab''', or, regionally, the '''Maryland blue crab''', is a species of [[crab]] native to the waters of the western [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the [[Gulf of Mexico]], and introduced internationally.

''C. sapidus'' is of considerable culinary and economic importance in the United States, particularly in [[Louisiana]], the [[Carolinas]], the [[Chesapeake Bay]], [[Delaware]], and [[New Jersey]]. It is the [[Maryland]] [[List of U.S. state crustaceans|state crustacean]] and the state's largest commercial [[fishery]].<ref name="Maryland">{{cite web |url=http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/crab.html |title=Maryland State Crustacean |date=2005-12-27 |publisher=[[Government of Maryland|Maryland State Archives]]}}</ref> Due to [[overfishing]] and environmental pressures some of the fisheries have seen declining yields, especially in the Chesapeake Bay fishery.

Unlike the other [[Climate change and fisheries|fisheries affected by climate change]], blue crab is expected to do well; warming causes better breeding conditions, more survivable winters, and a greater range of habitable areas on the Atlantic coast.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Blue Crabs Will Thrive Because Of Climate Change. Is That Really A Good Thing?|url=https://wamu.org/story/19/07/30/blue-crabs-will-thrive-because-of-climate-change-is-that-really-a-good-thing/|access-date=2020-12-11|website=WAMU|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fears|first=Darryl|title=Climate change will spark a baby boom of blue crabs. Then predators will relocate from the south and eat them.|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/07/31/climate-change-will-spark-blue-crab-baby-boom-then-predators-will-relocate-south-eat-them/|access-date=2020-12-11|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Whether this will have negative effects on the surrounding ecosystems from an increased crab population is still unclear.<ref name=":0" />

==Description==
{{Multiple image
| header = [[Sexual dimorphism]]
| direction = vertical
| align = left
| width = 220
| image1 = Line2243 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
| caption1 = Females (or "sooks") have a broad abdomen, similar to the shape of the dome of the [[United States Capitol]].<ref name="Pierce"/>
| image2 = Line0806 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
| caption2 = Males (or "jimmies") have a narrow abdomen, resembling the [[Washington Monument]].<ref name="Pierce"/>
}}
''C. sapidus'' is a decapod crab of the swimming crab family Portunidae. The genus ''Callinectes'' is distinguished from other [[Portunidae|portunid]] crabs by the lack of an internal cartilaginous spine on the carpus (the middle segment of the claw), as well as by the T-shape of the male abdomen.<ref name="genus callinectes">{{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=A. B.|title=The Swimming Crabs of the Genus Callinectes (Decapoda: Portunidae)|journal=Fishery Bulletin|date=1974|volume=72|issue=3|pages=685–692}}</ref> Blue crabs may grow to a [[carapace]] width of {{convert|23|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}. ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' individuals exhibit [[sexual dimorphism]]. Males and females are easily distinguished by the shape of the abdomen (known as the "apron") and by color differences in the chelipeds, or claws. The abdomen is long and slender in males, but wide and rounded in mature females. A popular [[mnemonic]] is that the male's apron is shaped like the [[Washington Monument]], while the mature female's resembles the [[United States Capitol dome|dome]] of the [[United States Capitol]].<ref name="Pierce">{{cite web |url=http://www.sms.si.edu/irlfieldguide/Callin_sapidu.htm |title=''Callinectes spiadus'' |work=Field Guide to the Indian River Lagoon |publisher=Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce |access-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529185428/http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLFieldGuide/Callin_sapidu.htm |archive-date=2013-05-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Claw color differences are more subtle than apron shape. The immovable, fixed finger of the claws in males is blue with red tips, while females have orange coloration with purple tips.<ref name=synopsis>{{cite journal|last1=Millikin|first1=Mark R.|last2=Williams|first2=Austin B.|title=Synopsis of Biological Data on the Blue Crab ''Callinectes sapidus'' Rathburn|journal=NOAA Technical Report NMFS 1|date=March 1984|pages=1–32}}</ref> A female's abdomen changes as it matures: an immature female has a triangular-shaped abdomen, whereas a mature female's is rounded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/bluecrab.asp |title=Blue crab, ''Callinectes sapidus'' |work=Maryland Fish Facts |publisher=[[Maryland Department of Natural Resources]] |date=April 4, 2007 |access-date=February 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419161530/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/bluecrab.asp |archive-date=April 19, 2011 }}</ref>

Other species of ''Callinectes'' may be easily confused with ''C. sapidus'' because of overlapping ranges and similar morphology. One species is the lesser blue crab (''[[Callinectes similis|C. similis]]''). It is found further offshore than the common blue crab, and has a smoother granulated carapace. Males of the lesser blue crab also have mottled white coloration on the swimming legs, and females have areas of violet coloration on the internal surfaces of the claws.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Callinectes similis'' Lesser Blue Crab|url=http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Callinectes_similis.htm|website=Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce|access-date=9 March 2015}}</ref> ''C. sapidus'' can be distinguished from another related species found within its range, ''[[Callinectes ornatus|C. ornatus]]'', by number of frontal teeth on the carapace. ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' has four, while ''C. ornatus'' has six.<ref name="Beachcomber">{{cite book |author=Susan B. Rothschild |year=2004 |title=Beachcomber's Guide to Gulf Coast Marine Life: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida |edition=3rd |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |isbn=978-1-58979-061-2 |chapter=Sandy beaches |pages=21–38 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0hWmtbRNwIC&pg=PA34}}</ref>

The crab's blue hue stems from a number of pigments in the shell, including alpha-[[crustacyanin]], which interacts with a red pigment, [[astaxanthin]], to form a greenish-blue coloration. When the crab is cooked, the alpha-crustacyanin breaks down, leaving only the astaxanthin, which turns the crab to a bright orange-red color.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blue Crab Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Blue Crab Archives |date=December 2008 |url=http://www.bluecrab.info/cooking_faq.htm}}</ref>

[[Organochloride]]s are found by Sheridan et al 1975 to be transferred to the ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' [[hepatopancreas]].<ref name="Kullenberg-1982">{{cite book | last=Kullenberg | first=Gunnar | title=Pollutant transfer and transport in the sea | publisher=CRC Press | publication-place=Boca Raton, Fla | year=1982 | isbn=978-0-8493-5602-5 | oclc=7306248}}</ref>{{rp|7}}<ref name="Bayne-et-al-1985">{{cite book | last1=Bayne | first1=B.L. | last2=Brown | first2=D.A. | last3=Burns | first3=K. | last4=Dixon | first4=D.R. | last5=Ivanovici | first5=A. | title=The effects of stress and pollution on marine animals | publisher=[[Praeger Publishing|Praeger]] | publication-place=New York | year=1985 | isbn=978-0-275-91125-6 | oclc=11187804}} [[AGRIS]] id [http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=XF2016073628 XF2016073628].</ref> They find that among organochlorides, [[DDT]] specifically is converted both to [[Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene|DDE]] and [[Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane|DDD]] in this crab.<ref name="Kennedy-2007">{{cite book | last=Kennedy | first=Victor | title=The Blue Crab : ''Callinectes sapidus'' | publisher=[[Maryland Sea Grant College]], University of Maryland | publication-place=[[College Park, Md]] | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-943676-67-8 | oclc=76820953}}</ref>{{rp|491}}

==Distribution==
''C. sapidus'' is native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean from [[Cape Cod]] to [[Argentina]] and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Callin_sapidu.htm |title=''Callinectes sapidus'' |publisher=Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce |date=October 11, 2004}}</ref><ref name="NG"/> It has recently been reported north of Cape Cod in the [[Gulf of Maine]], potentially representing a range expansion due to climate change.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=David|title=Home > Journals > The savory swimmer swims north: a northern range ... Advanced Search The savory swimmer swims north: a northern range extension of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus?|journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology|date=2015|volume=35|pages=105–110|doi=10.1163/1937240X-00002293|doi-access=free|hdl=1912/7194|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It has been introduced (via [[ballast water]]) to [[Japan]]ese and [[Europe]]an waters, and has been observed in the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]], [[North Sea|North]], [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], and [[Black Sea]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Callinectes sapidus'' |publisher=CIESM: The Mediterranean Marine Research Network |date=August 2006 |url=http://www.ciesm.org/atlas/Callinectessapidus.html |access-date=2006-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020114859/http://www.ciesm.org/atlas/Callinectessapidus.html |archive-date=2006-10-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first record from European waters was made in 1901 at [[Rochefort, Charente-Maritime|Rochefort]], France.<ref name="alien">{{cite book |editor1=Bella S. Galil |editor2=Paul F. Clark |editor3=James T. Carlton |year=2011 |title=In the Wrong Place – Alien Marine Crustaceans: Distribution, Biology and Impacts |volume=6 |series=Invading Nature |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-94-007-0590-6 |chapter=Human-mediated spread of alien crabs |author1=A. Brockerhoff |author2=C. McLay |pages=27–106 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e0vDFQ3yQzcC&pg=PA56}}</ref> In some parts of its introduced range, ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' has become the subject of [[crab fishery]], including in [[Greece]], where the local population may be decreasing as a result of [[overfishing]].<ref name="alien"/> In [[Italy]], public awareness of the detrimental impact of this species on local molluscs is rapidly growing and, especially in the [[Po (river)|Po delta]] area and on the [[Adriatic Sea]] coast, eradication efforts are undergoing, both by local authorities<ref>{{cite news |title=Veneto declares war on blue crabs |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2023/08/16/veneto-declares-war-on-blue-crabs_38342aa8-b897-4b05-8e4f-b81c37e98439.html |access-date=16 August 2023 |agency=ANSA}}</ref> and by local fishermen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy declares war on invading Atlantic blue crabs, by dishing them up |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/13/italy-atlantic-blue-crabs-threat-eat-them/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=August 13, 2023 |access-date=16 August 2023 |last1=Squires |first1=Nick }}</ref>

==Ecology==
Some of the natural predators of ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' include [[eel]]s, [[Drum (fish)|drum]], [[striped bass]], [[Leiostomus xanthurus|spot]], [[trout]], some [[shark]]s, [[human]]s, [[cownose ray]]s, and [[whiptail stingray]]s. ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' is an [[omnivore]], eating both plants and animals. It typically consumes thin-shelled [[bivalve]]s (such as [[clam]]s, [[mussel]]s, and [[oyster]]s), [[crustacean]]s, [[annelid]]s, [[Minnow|small fish]], [[plants]] (such as [[Zostera|eelgrass]]), and nearly any other item it can find, including [[carrion]], other ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' individuals, and animal waste.<ref>{{cite web | title=''Blue Crab-About The bay'' | publisher=The Chesapeake Bay Foundation | url=http://www.chesapeakebay.net/blue_crab.htm | access-date=2009-01-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116224520/http://www.chesapeakebay.net/blue_crab.htm | archive-date=2009-01-16 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Callinectes_sapidus%20-%20Blue%20Crab.pdf|title=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago - Callinectes sapidus (Blue Crab)|access-date=2023-08-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Callinectes_sapidus/ | title=Callinectes sapidus (Blue crab) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> In salt marshes, ''C. sapidus'' will eat marsh periwinkles, ''[[Littoraria irrorata]]'' during high tides.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hamilton |first1=P. V. |title=Predation on ''Littorina irrorata'' (Mollusca: Gastropoda) by ''Callinectes sapidus'' (Crustacea: Portunidae) |journal=Bulletin of Marine Science |date=1976 |volume=26 |pages=403–409}}</ref><ref name="Underwood-1979">{{cite book | last=Underwood | first=A.J. | title=[[Advances in Marine Biology]] | volume=16 | chapter=The Ecology of Intertidal Gastropods | publisher=[[Elsevier]] | year=1979 | issn=0065-2881 | doi=10.1016/s0065-2881(08)60293-x | pages=111–210| isbn=9780120261161 }}</ref> Although an aquatic predator, ''C. sapidus'' will remain in shallow pits in salt marshes at low tide and ambush intertidal prey such as fiddler crabs (e.g., ''Minuca pugnax'') and purple marsh crabs (''Sesarma reticulatum'')<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=David |title=Beautiful swimmers attack at low tide |journal=Ecology |year=2022 |volume=103 |issue=10 |pages=e3787 |doi=10.1002/ecy.3787|pmid=35724967 |pmc=9786347 |bibcode=2022Ecol..103E3787J |s2cid=249885998 }}</ref> ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' may be able to control populations of the invasive green crab, ''[[Carcinus maenas]]''; numbers of the two species are negatively [[Correlation|correlated]], and ''C. maenas'' is not found in the [[Chesapeake Bay]], where ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' is most abundant.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Catherine E. DeRivera |author2=Gregory M. Ruiz |author3=Anson H. Hines |author4=Paul Jivoff |year=2005 |title=Biotic resistance to invasion: Native predator limits abundance and distribution of an P.U.P.U crab |journal=[[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]] |volume=86 |issue=12 |pages=3367–3376 |url=http://serc.si.edu/labs/marine_invasions/publications/PDF/DeRivera_et_al_%202005%20_Biotic_%20resistance_to_Green_Crab.pdf |doi=10.1890/05-0479 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610025151/http://www.serc.si.edu/labs/marine_invasions/publications/PDF/DeRivera_et_al_%202005%20_Biotic_%20resistance_to_Green_Crab.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-10 }}</ref>

''C. sapidus'' is subject to a number of diseases and [[parasite]]s.<ref name="Messick">{{cite journal |author=Gretchen A. Messick |year=1998 |title=Diseases, parasites, and symbionts and blue crabs (''Callinectes sapidus'') dredged from Chesapeake Bay |journal=[[Journal of Crustacean Biology]] |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=533–548 |url=http://www.vims.edu/research/departments/eaah/programs/crustacean/research/hematodinium/literature/pdf%20files%202/Messick%201998.pdf |jstor=1549418 |doi=10.2307/1549418 |access-date=September 19, 2012 |archive-date=February 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201031531/http://www.vims.edu/research/departments/eaah/programs/crustacean/research/hematodinium/literature/pdf%20files%202/Messick%201998.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> These include a number of [[virus]]es, [[bacteria]], [[microsporidia]]ns, [[ciliate]]s, and others.<ref name="Messick"/> The [[Nemertea|nemertean worm]] ''[[Carcinonemertes carcinophila]]'' commonly parasitizes ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'', especially females and older crabs, although it has little adverse effect on the crab.<ref name="Messick"/> A trematode that parasitizes ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' is itself targeted by the [[hyperparasite]] ''[[Urosporidium crescens]]''.<ref name="Messick"/> The most harmful parasites may be the microsporidian ''[[Ameson michaelis]]'', the amoeba ''[[Paramoeba perniciosa]]'' and the [[dinoflagellate]] ''[[Hematodinium perezi]]'', which causes "bitter crab disease".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Gretchen A. Messick |author2=Carl J. Sindermann |year=1992 |title=Synopsis of principal diseases of the blue crab, ''Callinectes sapidus'' |series=NOAA Technical Memorandum |id=NMFS-F/NEC-88 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/pdfs/tmfnec88.pdf }}</ref>

In 2021, scientists from the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] completed [[DNA sequencing]] on ''C. sapidus's'' genome in Baltimore after six years of research to help better understand the species.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Condon|first=Christine|date=2021-10-11|title=The blue crab's blueprint: U-Md. scientists map crustacean's genome|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-blue-crabs-blueprint-u-md-scientists-map-crustaceans-genome/2021/10/11/63b8f402-2a4d-11ec-baf4-d7a4e075eb90_story.html|access-date=2021-10-13|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> This genetic map is expected to help scientists understand how the blue crabs will be affected by climate change and warmer water temperatures, along with which mutations cause disease, traits that influence meat production, and which females have the best reproductive ability.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Condon|first=Christine|date=2021-10-08|title=Maryland scientists mapped the DNA of a blue crab for the first time. It could unlock new clues to understanding the species.|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-blue-crab-genome-sequenced-20211008-mda7uqtop5af5dgkpeklkhxcwe-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-13|website=baltimoresun.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019020946/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-blue-crab-genome-sequenced-20211008-mda7uqtop5af5dgkpeklkhxcwe-story.html |archive-date=2021-10-19 }}</ref>

==Lifecycle==

===Growth===
Eggs of ''C. sapidus'' hatch in high-salinity waters of inlets, coastal waters, and mouths of rivers, and are carried to the ocean by ebb tides.<ref name="synopsis"/> During seven planktonic (zoeal) stages, blue crab larvae float near the surface and feed on microorganisms they encounter. After the eighth zoeal stage, larvae molt into megalopae. This larval form has small claws called chelipeds for grasping prey items.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Megalopae selectively migrate upward in the water column as tides travel landward toward estuaries. Eventually, blue crabs arrive in brackish water, where they spend the majority of their lives. Chemical cues in estuarine water prompt metamorphosis to the juvenile phase, after which blue crabs appear similar to the adult form.<ref name="synopsis"/>

A blue crab grows by shedding its [[exoskeleton]], or molting, to expose a new, larger exoskeleton. After it hardens, the new shell fills with body tissue. Shell hardening occurs most quickly in low-salinity water where high osmotic pressure allows the shell to become rigid soon after molting.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Molting reflects only incremental growth, making age estimation difficult.<ref name="synopsis"/> For blue crabs, the number of molts in a lifetime is fixed at about 25. Females typically exhibit 18 molts after the larval stages, while postlarval males molt about 20 times.<ref name=FMP>{{cite book|last1=Bourgeois|first1=Marty|last2=Marx|first2=Jeff|last3=Semon|first3=Katie|title=Louisiana Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan|date=November 7, 2014|pages=1–122|publisher=Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries}}</ref> 
Male blue crabs tend to grow broader and have more accentuated lateral spines than females.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Growth and molting are profoundly influenced by temperature and food availability. Higher temperatures and greater food resources decrease the period of time between molts, as well as the change in size during molts (molt increment). Salinity and disease also have subtle impacts on molting and growth rate.<ref name="genus callinectes"/> Molting occurs more rapidly in low-salinity environments. The high osmotic pressure gradient causes water to quickly diffuse into a soft, recently molted blue crab's shell, allowing it to harden more quickly. The effects of diseases and parasites on growth and molting are less well understood, but in many cases have been observed to reduce growth between molts. For example, mature female blue crabs infected with the parasitic rhizocephalan barnacle ''Loxothylacus texanus'' appear extremely stunted in growth when compared to uninfected mature females.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Blue crabs may reach maturity within one year of hatching in the Gulf of Mexico, while Chesapeake Bay crabs may take up to 18 months to mature.<ref name= "FMP"/> As a result of different growth rates, commercial and recreational crabbing occur year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, while crabbing seasons are closed for colder parts of the year in northern states.

===Reproduction===
[[File:Female blue crab with eggs.jpg|thumb|Female blue crab with eggs]]
Mating and spawning are distinct events in blue crab reproduction. Males may mate several times and undergo no major changes in morphology during the process. Female blue crabs mate only once in their lifetimes during their pubertal, or terminal, molt. During this transition, the abdomen changes from a triangular to a semicircular shape. Mating in blue crab is a complex process that requires precise timing of mating at the time of the female's terminal molt. It generally occurs during the warmest months of the year. Prepubertal females migrate to the upper reaches of estuaries, where males typically reside as adults. To ensure that a male can mate, he actively seeks a receptive female and guards her for up to seven days until she molts, when insemination occurs. Crabs compete with other individuals before, during, and after insemination, so mate guarding is very important for reproductive success. After mating, a male must continue to guard the female until her shell has hardened.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Inseminated females retain spermatophores for up to one year, which they use for multiple spawnings in high salinity water.<ref name=Perry>{{cite journal|last1=Perry|first1=H.M.|title=The blue crab fishery in Mississippi|journal=Gulf Research Reports|date=1975|volume=5|issue=1|pages=39–57|doi=10.18785/grr.0501.05|doi-access=free}}</ref> During spawning, a female extrudes fertilized eggs onto her swimmerets and carries them in a large egg mass, or sponge, while they develop. Females migrate to the mouth of the estuary to release the larvae, the timing of which is believed to be influenced by light, tide, and lunar cycles. Blue crabs have high fecundity; females may produce up to 2 million eggs per brood.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/>

Migration and reproduction patterns differ between crab populations along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. A distinct and large-scale migration occurs in Chesapeake Bay, where ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' undergoes a seasonal migration of up to several hundred miles. In the middle and upper parts of the bay, mating peaks in mid- to late summer, while in the lower bay, peaks in mating activity occur during spring and late summer through early fall. Changes in salinity and temperature may impact time of mating because both factors are important during the molting process.<ref name="Blue Crab Book">{{cite book|last1=Kennedy|first1=Victor S.|last2=Cronin|first2=L. Eugene|title=The Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus|date=2007|publisher=Maryland Sea Grant College|location=College Park, Md.|isbn=978-0943676678|pages=655–698}}</ref> After mating, the female crab travels to the southern portion of the Chesapeake, using ebb tides to migrate from areas of low salinity to areas of high salinity,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=James L. Hench |author2=Richard B. Forward |author3=Sarah D. Carr |author4=Daniel Rittschof |author5=Richard A. Luettich |year=2004 |title=Testing a selective tidal-stream transport model: observations of female blue crab (''Callinectes sapidus'') vertical migration during the spawning season |journal=[[Limnology and Oceanography]] |volume=49 |issue=5 |pages=1857–1870 |doi=10.4319/lo.2004.49.5.1857|bibcode=2004LimOc..49.1857H |citeseerx=10.1.1.536.2262 |s2cid=85991459 }}</ref> fertilizing her eggs with sperm stored during her single mating months or almost a year before.<ref name="serc">{{cite web|title=''Migration''|publisher=SERC: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center|url=http://www.serc.si.edu/education/resources/bluecrab/migration.aspx|access-date=2010-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713074244/http://serc.si.edu/education/resources/bluecrab/migration.aspx|archive-date=2010-07-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Spawning events in the Gulf of Mexico are less pronounced than in estuaries along the East Coast, like the Chesapeake. In northern waters of the Gulf of Mexico, spawning occurs in the spring, summer, and fall, and females generally spawn twice. During spawning, females migrate to high -salinity waters to develop a sponge, and return inland after hatching their larvae. They develop their second sponge inland, and again migrate to the high-salinity waters to hatch the second sponge. After this, they typically do not re-enter the estuary. Blue crabs along the southernmost coast of Texas may spawn year-round.<ref name="FMP"/>

==Commercial importance==

===Range of fisheries===
[[File:Schwimmkrabben gekocht.jpg|thumb|Cooked blue crabs]]
[[File:Martha_Reeves_takes_on_a_Maryland_crab.jpg|thumb|Singer [[Martha Reeves]] fake-eating a blue crab ([[Baltimore]], 1996)]]
[[File:Blue crab, capture production, thousand tonnes, 1950-2022.svg|thumb|Global capture production of Blue crab (''Callinectes sapidus'') in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>]]
Commercial fisheries for ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' exist along much of the Atlantic coast of the United States, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the fishery has been historically centered on the [[Chesapeake Bay]], contributions from other localities are increasing in importance.<ref name="Cascorbi">{{cite web |author=Alice Cascorbi |date=February 14, 2004 |title=Seafood Report: Blue Crab, ''Callinectes sapidus'' |work=Seafood Watch |publisher=[[Monterey Bay Aquarium]] |url=http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_BlueCrabReport.pdf |access-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728194105/http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_BlueCrabReport.pdf |archive-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the past two decades, most commercial crabs have been landed in four states: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Weight and value of harvests since 2000 are listed below.<ref name="NMFS"/>

===History of the crab fishery===
As early as the 1600s, the blue crab was an important food item for Native Americans and English settlers in the Chesapeake Bay area. Soft and hard blue crabs were not as valuable as fish, but gained regional popularity by the 1700s. Throughout their range, crabs were also an effective bait type for hook-and-line fisheries. Rapid perishing limited the distribution and hindered the growth of the fishery. Advances in refrigeration techniques in the late 1800s and early 1900s increased demand for blue crab nationwide.<ref name ="Blue Crab Book"/>

====Atlantic Coast====
The early blue crab fishery along the Atlantic Coast was casual and productive because blue crabs were extremely abundant. In the lower Chesapeake Bay, crabs were even considered a nuisance species because they frequently clogged the nets of seine fishermen. Early on, the blue crab fishery of the Atlantic states was well documented. Atlantic states were the first to regulate the fishery, particularly the Chesapeake states. For example, after observing a slight decline in harvest, the fishing commissions of Virginia and Maryland put size limits into place by 1912 and 1917, respectively. Catch-per-unit-effort at the time was determined by packing houses, or crab processing plants.<ref name = "Blue Crab Book"/>

====Gulf of Mexico====
The early history of the recreational blue crab fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is not well known.<ref name="FMP"/> Commercial crabbing was first reported in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1880s. Early crab fishermen used long-handled dip nets and drop nets among other simple fishing gear types to trap crabs at night. Blue crab spoiled quickly, which limited distribution and hindered the growth of the fishery for several decades.<ref name=perry>{{cite journal|last1=Perry|first1=H.M.|last2=Adkins|first2=G.|last3=Condrey|first3=R.|last4=Hammerschmidt|first4=P.C.|last5=Heath|first5=S.|last6=Herring|first6=J.R.|last7=Moss|first7=C.|last8=Perkins|first8=G.|last9=Steele|first9=P.|title=A profile of the blue crab fishery of the Gulf of Mexico|journal=Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission|date=1984|volume=Publication 7}}</ref> The first commercial processing plant in Louisiana opened in Morgan City in 1924. Other plants opened soon after, although commercial processing of hard blue crabs was not widespread until World War II.<ref name="FMP"/>

===Louisiana fishery===
Louisiana now has the world's largest blue-crab fishery. Commercial harvests in the state account for over half of all landings in the Gulf of Mexico.<ref name="FMP"/> The industry was not commercialized for interstate commerce until the 1990s, when supply markedly decreased in Maryland due to problems (see above) in Chesapeake Bay. Since then, Louisiana has steadily increased its harvest. In 2002, Louisiana harvested 22% of the nation's blue crab. That number rose to 26% by 2009 and 28% by 2012. The vast majority of Louisiana crabs are shipped to Maryland, where they are sold as "Chesapeake" or "Maryland" crab. Louisiana's harvest remained high in 2013, with 17,597 metric tons of blue crab valued at $51 million.<ref name="NMFS"/> In addition to commercial harvesting, recreational crabbing is very popular along Louisiana's coast.<ref name="FMP"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Fishery value in millions of US dollars (and percentage of national harvest weight)<ref name= "NMFS"/>
|-
! Year !! colspan=2 | Maryland !! colspan=2 | Virginia !! colspan=2 | North Carolina !! colspan=2 | Louisiana !! USA
|-
| align=center style="width: 4em;" | 2000 || style="width: 4em;" align=right| $31 || style="width: 4em;"align=right| 12% || style="width: 4em;"align=right| $24 || style="width: 4em;"align=right| 16% || style="width: 4em;"align=right| $37 || style="width: 4em;"align=right| 22% || style="width: 4em;"align=right| $34 || style="width: 4em;"align=right| 28% || style="width: 4em;"align=right| $164
|-
| align=center| 2001 || align=right| $35 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $26 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $32 || align=right| 20% || align=right| $32 || align=right| 26% || align=right| $158
|-
| align=center| 2002 || align=right| $30 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $21 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $33 || align=right| 22% || align=right| $31 || align=right| 29% || align=right| $147
|-
| align=center| 2003 || align=right| $35 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $19 || align=right| 13% || align=right| $37 || align=right| 25% || align=right| $34 || align=right| 28% || align=right| $154
|-
| align=center| 2004 || align=right| $39 || align=right| 19% || align=right| $22 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $24 || align=right| 20% || align=right| $30 || align=right| 25% || align=right| $146
|-
| align=center| 2005 || align=right| $40 || align=right| 22% || align=right| $21 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $20 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $27 || align=right| 24% || align=right| $141
|-
| align=center| 2006 || align=right| $31 || align=right| 18% || align=right| $14 || align=right| 14% || align=right| $17 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $33 || align=right| 32% || align=right| $126
|-
| align=center| 2007 || align=right| $42 || align=right| 20% || align=right| $16 || align=right| 16% || align=right| $21 || align=right| 14% || align=right| $35 || align=right| 29% || align=right| $149
|-
| align=center| 2008 || align=right| $50 || align=right| 22% || align=right| $18 || align=right| 14% || align=right| $28 || align=right| 20% || align=right| $32 || align=right| 26% || align=right| $161
|-
| align=center| 2009 || align=right| $52 || align=right| 22% || align=right| $21 || align=right| 19% || align=right| $27 || align=right| 17% || align=right| $37 || align=right| 30% || align=right| $163
|-
| align=center| 2010 || align=right| $79 || align=right| 33% || align=right| $29 || align=right| 19% || align=right| $26 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $30 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $205
|-
| align=center| 2011 || align=right| $60 || align=right| 25% || align=right| $26 || align=right| 20% || align=right| $21 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $37 || align=right| 22% || align=right| $184
|-
| align=center| 2012 || align=right| $60 || align=right| 24% || align=right| $25 || align=right| 19% || align=right| $23 || align=right| 15% || align=right| $39 || align=right| 23% || align=right| $188
|-
| align=center| 2013 || align=right| $50 || align=right| 18% || align=right| $24 || align=right| 18% || align="right" | $30 || align=right| 17% || align=right| $51 || align=right| 29% || align=right| $192
|}

===Chesapeake Bay fishery===
The Chesapeake Bay has had the largest blue crab harvest for more than a century. Maryland and Virginia are usually the top two Atlantic coast states in annual landings, followed by North Carolina.<ref name=NMFS>{{cite web|title=NMFS Landings Query Results for Blue Crab|url=http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/pls/webpls/MF_ANNUAL_LANDINGS.RESULTS|access-date=23 February 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2013, crab landings were valued at $18.7 million from Maryland waters and $16.1 million from Virginia waters.<ref name=CBSAC>{{cite journal|last1=Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee|title=Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report|date=2014|pages=1–13}}</ref> Although crab populations are currently declining, blue crab fishing in Maryland and Virginia remains a livelihood for thousands of coastal residents. As of 2001, Maryland and Virginia collectively had 4,816 commercial crab license holders.<ref name=Rhodes>{{cite journal|last1=Rhodes|first1=A.|last2=Lipton|first2=D.|last3=Shabman|first3=L.|title=A Socio-Economic Profile of the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Fishery|journal=Bi-State Blue Crab Advisory Committee|date=2001|pages=1–27}}</ref> Three separate licenses are required for each of the three major jurisdictional areas: Maryland, the Potomac River, and Virginia waters.<ref name=Miller>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=T.J.|last2=Wilberg|first2=M.J.|last3=Colton|first3=A.R.|last4=Davis|first4=G.R.|last5=Sharov|first5=A.|last6=Lipcius|first6=R.N.|last7=Ralph|first7=G.M.|last8=Johnson|first8=E.G.|last9=Kaufman|first9=A.G.|title=Stock Assessment of the Blue Crab in the Chesapeake Bay|journal=Technical Series Report No. TS614-11|date=2011|pages=1–214}}</ref> While the Bay's commercial sector lands the majority of hard crab landings and nearly all peeler or soft crab landings, the recreational fishery is also significant.<ref name ="Miller"/> In 2013, an estimated {{convert|3.9|e6lb|e6kg|abbr=off|order=flip}} of blue crab were harvested recreationally.<ref name="CBSAC"/>

====Recent decline====
Blue crab populations naturally fluctuate with annual changes in environmental conditions. They have been described as having a long-term dynamic equilibrium, which was first noted after irregular landings data in the Chesapeake in 1950.<ref name=Stagg>{{cite journal|last1=Stagg|first1=C.|last2=Whilden|first2=M.|title=The history of Chesapeake Bay's blue crab (Callinectes sapidus): Fisheries and management|journal=Investigaciones Marinas|date=1997|volume=25|pages=93–104|doi=10.4067/s0717-71781997002500007|doi-access=free}}</ref> This tendency may have made it difficult for managers to predict the severe decline of the Chesapeake's blue crab populations. Once considered an overwhelmingly abundant annoyance, the declining blue crab population is now the subject of anxiety among fishermen and managers. Over the decade between the mid-1990s to 2004, the population fell from 900 million to around 300 million, and harvest weight fell from {{convert|52000|to|28000|t|ST|abbr=off}}. [[Revenue]] fell further, from $72 million to $61 million. Long-term estimates say that the overall Chesapeake population decreased around 70% in the last few decades. Even more alarming, the number of females capable of reproducing, known as spawning age females, has plummeted 84% in just a few decades. Survival and addition of juveniles to the harvestable crab population is also low.<ref name=Zohar>{{cite journal|last1=Zohar|first1=Y.|last2=Hines|first2=A.H.|last3=Zmora|first3=O.|last4=Johnson|first4=E.G.|last5=Lipcius|first5=R.N.|last6=Seitz|first6=R.D.|title=The Chesapeake Bay blue crab (Callinectes sapidus): a multidisciplinary approach to responsible stock replenishment|journal=Reviews in Fisheries Science|date=2008|volume=16|issue=1–3|pages=24|doi=10.1080/10641260701681623|bibcode=2008RvFS...16...24Z |s2cid=27931558}}</ref> Many factors are to blame for low blue crab numbers, including high fishing pressure, [[environmental degradation]], and disease prevalence.<ref name="Bad Water">{{cite journal|last1=Chesapeake Bay Foundation|title=Bad Water and the Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake Bay|journal=Chesapeake Bay Foundation Reports|date=December 2008|pages=1–24}}</ref> The 2018 reduction in [[H-2B visa]]s available for [[Seasonal industry|seasonal workers]] is affecting Maryland's 20 crab processors, which typically employ about 500 foreign workers, but the effect this will have on the crab fishery is not yet clear.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crab-crisis-md-seafood-industry-loses-40-percent-of-workforce-in-visa-lottery/2018/05/03/bf397874-4ef0-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html|title=Crab crisis: Md. seafood industry loses 40 percent of workforce in visa lottery|last=Dance|first=Scott|date=2018-05-03|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-05-06|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

===Crabbing gear===

[[File:Blue Crab Pot, Trap .jpg|thumb|Blue crab pot]]
Many types of gear have been used to catch blue crabs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/> Initially, people used very simple techniques and gear, which included hand lines, dip nets, and push nets among a variety of other gear types. The trotline, a long baited twine set in waters 5–15 feet deep, was the first major gear type used commercially to target hard crabs.<ref name="genus callinectes"/> Use of commercial trotlines is now mostly limited to the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In the Gulf of Mexico, trotline use drastically declined after invention of the crab pot in 1938. Crab pots are rigid, box-like traps made of hexagonal or square wire mesh. They possess between two and four funnels that extend into the trap, with the smaller end of the funnel inside of the trap. A central compartment made of smaller wire mesh holds bait. Crabs attracted by odorant plumes from the bait, often an oily fish, enter the trap through the funnels and cannot escape.<ref name="Blue Crab Book"/>

====Bycatch====
Species other than blue crab are often caught incidentally in crab pots, including fish, turtles, conch, and other crab species. In Georgia, hermit crabs (''Pagurus'' spp.), channeled whelk (''Busycon canaliculatum''), spider crabs (''Libinia'' spp.), and stone crabs (''Menippe mercenaria'') were the most common species observed as bycatch in commercial crab pots.<ref name=Page>{{cite journal|last1=Page| first1=J.W.|last2=Curran|first2=M.C.|last3=Geer|first3=P.J.|title=Characterization of the bycatch in the commercial blue crab pot fishery in Georgia, November 2003–December 2006 |journal=Marine and Coastal Fisheries |volume=5 |date=2013 |pages=236–245 |doi=10.1080/19425120.2013.818084|doi-access=free}}</ref> Of important concern is the [[diamondback terrapin]], ''Malaclemys terrapin''. The blue crab and diamondback terrapin have overlapping ranges along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Because the funnels in a crab pot are flexible, small terrapins may easily enter and become entrapped. Traps are checked every 24 hours or less, frequently resulting in drowning and death of terrapins. Crab pot bycatch may reduce local terrapin populations to less than half. To reduce terrapin entrapment, [[bycatch reduction device]]s (BRDs) may be installed on each of the funnels in a crab pot.<ref name=Roosenburg>{{cite journal|last1=Roosenburg|first1=Willem|title=The Impact of Crab Pot Fisheries on Terrapin (''Malaclemys terrapin'') Populations: Where Are We and Where Do We Need to Go?|journal=Conservation and Ecology of Turtles of the Mid-Atlantic Region: A Symposium|date=2004|pages=23–30}}</ref> BRDs effectively reduce bycatch (and subsequently mortality) of small terrapins without affecting blue crab catch.<ref name=Rook>{{cite journal|last1=Rook|first1=M.A.|last2=Lipcius|first2=R.N.|last3=Bronner|first3=B.M.|last4=Chambers|first4=R.M.|title=Bycatch reduction device conserves diamondback terrapin without affecting catch of blue crab|journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series|date=2010|volume=409|pages=171–179|doi=10.3354/meps08489|bibcode=2010MEPS..409..171R|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Efforts to manage fisheries===
[[File:HD.6D.417 (10946254725).jpg|thumb|A scientist holding a female (left) and male (right) Maryland blue crab (Chesapeake Bay, 1972)]]

Because of its commercial and environmental value, ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' is the subject of management plans over much of its range.<ref name="NG">{{cite web |url=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/blue-crab/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115172611/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/blue-crab/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 15, 2010 |title=Blue crabs |date=10 May 2011 |publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |access-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.gsmfc.org/publications/GSMFC%20Number%20096.pdf |publisher=[[Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission]] |title=The Blue Crab Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States: a Regional Management Plan |access-date=July 22, 2011 |editor1=Vincent Guillory |editor2=Harriet Perry |editor3=Steve VanderKooy |volume=96 |date=October 2001 }}</ref> In 2012, the ''C.&nbsp;sapidus'' population in Louisiana was recognized as a certified [[sustainable]] fishery by the [[Marine Stewardship Council]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Louisiana blue crab earns a blue ribbon |newspaper=[[The Times-Picayune]] |url=http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2012/03/blue_crab_now_a_certified_sust.html |author=Benjamin Alexander-Bloch |date=March 19, 2012 |access-date=March 19, 2012}}</ref> It was the first and remains the only certified sustainable blue crab fishery worldwide.<ref name=Audubon>{{cite web|title=Louisiana Blue Crab Third Party Certification|url=http://audubongulf.org/|website=Audubon Nature Institute G.U.L.F.|access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref> For the state to maintain its certification, it must undergo annual monitoring and conduct a full re-evaluation five years after the certification date.<ref name=MSC>{{cite journal|last1=DeAlteris|first1=Dr. J.|last2=Daume|first2=Dr. S.|last3=Allen|first3=Mr. R.|title=MSC Final Report Louisiana Blue Crab Fishery|date=February 16, 2012|pages=1–119}}</ref>

== Sports ==
The blue crab is the namesake of the [[Jersey Shore BlueClaws]] team in minor-league baseball playing in the [[South Atlantic League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jersey Shore BlueClaws |url=https://www.milb.com/jersey-shore |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=[[Minor League Baseball]] |language=en}}</ref> They are located in [[Lakewood Township, New Jersey|Lakewood]], New Jersey, and are a high-A affiliate of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]].

Blue crabs are also the namesake of the [[Southern Maryland Blue Crabs]], a professional baseball team located in [[Waldorf, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Official Name for Southern Maryland's New Minor League Baseball Team Chosen |url=https://somd.com/news/headlines/2006/3724.php |access-date=27 October 2023 |agency=Southern Maryland Online |date=8 May 2006}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Beautiful Swimmers]]'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning book with an extensive discussion of the crabs and their lifecycle
*[[Chesapeake (novel)|''Chesapeake'' (novel)]], by James Michener with a story about ''C. sapidus'' titled "Jimmy the crab"
*[[Crab cake]]
*[[She-crab soup]]
*[[Soft-shell crab]]

==References==
{{Reflist|32em}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Callinectes sapidus|''Callinectes sapidus''}}
*[http://www.danapointfishcompany.com/female-atlantic-blue-crab-anatomy-callinectes-sapidus/ Female Blue Crab Anatomy - Callinectes sapidus] - Dana Point Fish Company
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100309005123/http://www.heronpointseafood.com/Heron%20Point%20Crab%20Diagram%20.html Crab diagram]
*[http://www.bluecrab.info/lifecycle.html Blue crab life cycle]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070713143814/http://skipjack.net/le_shore/crab/ The Maryland Blue Crab]}}
*[https://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn13603-boy-crabs-boogie-to-bring-females-out-of-hiding.html Boy crabs boogie to bring females out of hiding] – the wild dance of male blue crabs propels a jet of pheromones to attract would-be lovers, ''New Scientist'', 7 April 2008
*[https://archive.today/20130121075626/http://www2.dailyprogress.com/business/cdp-business/2008/jul/21/cbj_chesapeake_watermen_fear_blue_crab_not_coming_-ar-69615/ Chesapeake watermen fear blue crab not coming back] – [[Associated Press]], July 16, 2008
* [http://www.bluecrab.info/ Blue Crab Info]
* [http://chefsofcarolina.com/carolina-culinary-traditions/carolina-blue-crab-3/ Carolina Blue Crab]
* [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160406191403/http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=fa7d07d3-dc55-47f4-9ae9-91a66f6d1948&groupId=38337 Blue Crab - North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020621235908/http://www.ncwaterman.com/crabs/ Blue Crab - North Carolina Watermen]
* [https://crabsman.com/blue-crab-facts/ Blue Crab Fact Sheet]

{{Edible crustaceans}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q844839}}

[[Category:Portunoidea]]
[[Category:Edible crustaceans]]
[[Category:Commercial crustaceans]]
[[Category:Crabs of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Crustaceans of North America]]
[[Category:Crustaceans of Brazil]]
[[Category:Crustaceans of the United States]]
[[Category:Arthropods of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Crustaceans described in 1896]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Mary J. Rathbun]]