Effect of a terrapin excluder device on blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, trap catches

Crab traps were fitted with a Turtle Excluder device to reduce the incidental capture of diamondback terrapins. No diamondback terrapins were caught during this study but the total catch rate of targeted blue crabs, compared to the standard traps, increased by 25.7% (14.5% sublegal size, 32.9% legal size). The difference in total catch rates and catch rates of legal sized blue crabs between the two traps were significantly different.
Field Studies:

Location	Fishing gear	Reduction technique	Bycatch species	Effect on bycatch species	Catch	Effect on target catch	Type
Louisiana	Traps	Excluder devices	Sea Turtles	No diamondback terrapins were caught during the study	Blue crab	Increased the total catch rate by 25.7%, the catch rate of sublegal crabs by 14.5% and of legal crabs by 32.9%	In the wild