BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Cancer pagurus

Researched by

Ken Neal & Emily Wilson

Data supplied by

MarLIN

Refereed by

This information is not refereed.

Reproduction/Life History

Reproductive type

Gonochoristic

Developmental mechanism

Planktotrophic

Reproductive Season

Winter

Reproductive Location

As adult

Reproductive frequency

Annual episodic

Regeneration potential

Life span

21-50 years

Age at reproductive maturity

6-10 years

Generation time

11-20 years

Fecundity

250,000 - 3,000,000 eggs per female

Egg/propagule size

Insufficient information

Fertilization type

Internal

Larvae/Juveniles
Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential	>10km	Larval settlement period	Insufficient information
Duration of larval stage	1-6 months

Reproduction Preferences Additional Information

Mating is by copulation in spring and summer and occurs shortly after the female has moulted (Brown & Bennett, 1980). Females are 'berried' (carrying eggs under the abdomen) for 6-9 months after copulation and release the larvae in late spring/early summer (Thompson et al., 1995). Berried females do not feed, remaining in pits dug in the sediment or under rocks and are unlikely to be caught in a baited pot. As a result, fishing pressure does not affect larval supply (Howard, 1982). Fecundity is between 0.25 and 3 million eggs per female depending on size (Bennett, 1995). Females can store sperm and berried females retained after an experiment went on to produce viable larvae in the following reproductive season without moulting or copulating (Naylor et al., 1999). In the North Sea, berried females migrate offshore to release larvae and then move back inshore to feed (see larval general biology; Nichols et al., 1982).

Reproduction References

Edwards, 1979, Bennett, 1995, Nichols et al., 1982, Brown & Bennett, 1980, Howard, 1982, Thompson et al., 1995, Naylor et al., 1999,