Improving the efficiency of the Fukui trap as a capture tool for the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Newfoundland, Canada.

Jonathan A Bergshoeff,Cynthia H Mckenzie,Brett Favaro

doi:10.7717/peerj.6308

Abstract

The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is a crustacean species native to European and North African coastlines that has become one of the world’s most successful marine invasive species. Targeted fishing programs aimed at removing green crabs from invaded ecosystems commonly use Fukui multi-species marine traps. Improving the efficiency of these traps would improve the ability to respond to green crab invasions. In this study, we developed four distinct trap modifications that were designed to facilitate the successful capture of green crabs, with the goal of improving the performance of the Fukui trap. We tested these modifications in situ during the summer of 2016 at two locations in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. We discovered that three of our modified Fukui trap designs caught significantly more green crabs than the standard Fukui trap, increasing catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) by as much as 81%. We conclude that our top-performing modifications have great potential for widespread use with existing Fukui traps that are being used for green crab removal efforts.

Highlights

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) is a globally successful aquatic invader, present on every continent with temperate shores (Behrens Yamada, 2001; Roman, 2006; Darling et al, 2008)
This study demonstrates that dramatic improvements in the performance of the Fukui trap can be achieved through simple design modifications
Due to the widespread use and versatility of the Fukui trap as a green crab removal tool, it was important that these modifications were simple, durable, and effective

Summary

Introduction

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) is a globally successful aquatic invader, present on every continent with temperate shores (Behrens Yamada, 2001; Roman, 2006; Darling et al, 2008). In Newfoundland, the European green crab (hereafter green crab) was first detected in 2007, and it has since become established across the southern and western coasts of the island (Best, McKenzie & Couturier, 2017). These invasions threaten the native ecosystem through the destruction of sensitive eelgrass beds (Malyshev & Quijón, 2011; Garbary et al, 2014; Matheson et al, 2016), predation on native bivalves (Ropes, 1968; Cohen, Carlton & Fountain, 1995; Matheson & McKenzie, 2014; Pickering et al, 2017; Poirier et al, 2017), and competition with native species for. Focused trapping has become the predominant strategy for addressing green crab invasions on both the east and west coasts of Canada (Duncombe & Therriault, 2017; Bergshoeff et al, 2018)

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Discussion

Conclusion