Status of crab fishery resources (Portunus pelagicus) on the Coast of Kebumen Regency

Abstract

Abstract Blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) is one of the sought-after fisheries products in Indonesia. Additionally, the blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) has a broad market, both domestically and internationally. The increasing demand for crab products has led to a rise in capture intensity. Uncontrolled exploitation, coupled with climate and aquatic environmental changes, is feared to cause a decline in crab populations, posing a threat to the sustainability of crab fisheries. The objective of this research is to describe the fishing units and areas for crab capture, identify the composition of catch results, determine the crab (Portunus spp.) capture season, and evaluate the utilization status of crab resources along the southern coast of Kebumen Regency. Fishing units, catch composition, and crab capture seasons are analyzed descriptively. The analytical method used to determine the status of crab resource stocks is the estimation of the spawning potential ratio (SPR). The fishing gear used includes trawl nets and fiber boats for crab capture. The captured crabs consist of three species: Portunus pelagicus, Charybdis feriata, and Portunus sanguinolentus. The crab capture season is from February to June, peaking in March. The SPR analysis for swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) resulted in 25%. The crab stock status (Portunus pelagicus) in the southern coast of Kebumen Regency indicates a fully-exploited category, and one management option is to control crab capture efforts to increase crab biomass and maintain sustainability.