Development and Evaluation of an Escape Vent for Undersized Swimming Crab (Portunus trituberculatus) Bycatch Reduction in Pots

We sought to develop and evaluate an escape vent designed for undersized swimming crabs (Portunus trituberculatus) to reduce bycatch, contributing to the preservation of marine resources. To this end, we conducted aquarium experiments and selectivity analysis to determine the appropriate size of the escape vent that would allow only undersized crabs with a carapace length of 64 mm or less to escape. The optimal dimensions for the escape vent were approximately 34.1 mm in height and 69.1 mm in width. During the sea trial, the average bycatch rates for undersized crabs per pot were 57.2%, 15.0%, and 22.3% for the control, basic, and door types, respectively. Regarding legal-sized crab catch per pot, averages of 1.40, 1.72, and 1.62 individuals were obtained for the three pot types. To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the optimal size for an escape vent capable of reducing the bycatch of undersized crabs while maintaining legal-sized swimming crabs capture.