| Abstract: | The mean effective fishing area (EFA) of a Japanese-type crab trap fishing for Geryon maritae on the northern South West African red-crab grounds was calibrated as 2 160 m2. The commercial fishery uses traps covered with 90-mm mesh. In order to be able to use the density results obtained by this survey from traps covered with 60-mm mesh, a preliminary mesh selectivity study was carried out. The carapace width at 50-per-cent retention for 90-mm mesh was estimated as 72 mm. Based on the EFA results, it seems that most commercial fishing takes place in areas of crab density varying between 46 and 231 crabs·ha?1, but that densities can reach ～510 crabs·ha?1. It is suggested that crab traps would fish more efficiently on the northern South West African crab grounds if longlines were set across the depth contours rather than in a longshore direction. |
