Live shipment of immersed crabs Cancer pagurus from England to Portugal and recovery in stocking tanks: stress parameter characterization

Abstract

AbstractBarrento, S., Marques, A., Vaz-Pires, P., and Nunes, M. L. 2010. Live shipment of immersed crabs Cancer pagurus from England to Portugal and recovery in stocking tanks: stress parameter characterization. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 435–443. Cancer pagurus is commercially one of the most important crustaceans exploited in the UK and Ireland, but the main markets are in southern Europe, to where live edible crabs are transported. In this study, potential stressors during the live trade chain from England to Portugal were identified and related to changes in haemolymph parameters. Before their live transport, 60 crabs were tagged, their vigour was assessed, and their haemolymph was sampled; 30 crabs were placed in the bottom of a vivier-truck tank and the balance at the top (1 kg crab l−1 in a total of 700 kg). The sampling procedure was repeated after immersed live transport (58 h), and during subsequent recovery (6, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h) in seawater at Portuguese storage facilities. Haemolymph parameters included pH, d-glucose, l-lactate, and haemocyanine. Cumulative mortalities at the end of the experiment (96 h in recovery tanks) of bottom and top crabs were 8.9 and 10.7%, respectively. Vigour assessment predicted crab mortality well. The main stressors identified were poor handling; air exposure during unloading, and deficient transport conditions. d-Glucose and l-lactate increased during transport with acidification of the haemolymph. Concentration of l-lactate reached control levels after 24 h of recovery, but haemolymph remained acidic and hyperglycaemic even after 96 h. The transport conditions promoted anaerobiosis, so alternatives need to be considered.