Spatio-temporal patterns of crab fisheries in the main bays of Guangdong Province, China

Using a semi-balloon otter trawl, crab fisheries in the main bays of Guangdong Province, China, were carried out seasonally. A total of 70 species were found, all belonging to the South China Sea Faunal sub region in the tropical India-West-Pacific Faunal Region. The clustering and nMDS ordination analysis revealed the existence of three groups. Group 1 included Hailing Bay and four bays to its east where typical species were Portunus sanguinolentus, P. pelagicus and Charybdis feriatus. Group 2 included Shuidong Bay and Leizhou Bay where typical species were P. sanguinolentus, P. pelagicus and P. hastatoides. Group 3 was Liusha Bay where typical species were C. feriatus, C. vadorum and C. truncate. The spatial and temporal variations of crab fisheries were mainly associated with characteristics of the sediment, seasonal changes and their own biological characteristics, but not significantly with water depth, temperature, salinity, and the “mid-summer fishing moratorium” conservation measure.