Abstract
We describe the first occurrence in Atlantic Canada waters of "bitter crab disease" in the snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio. The condition is caused by a parasitic dinoflagellate, Hematodinium sp. Male crabs held in captivity harbored vegetative, prespore, and dinospore stages. Incidence of the disease was low (= <0.11%) off the eastern and northeastern coasts of Newfoundland in 1992-1993, except in Conception Bay, where 3.7% of 135 crabs examined were infected. The significance of Hematodinium sp. to snow crab populations in Newfoundland and to the commercial fishery is not yet clear, but it is prudent to monitor this parasite which has caused local depletion of Tanner crab populations in Alaska.
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