Modification of Eco-Friendly Collapsible Crab Pot of Blue Swimming Crab in Pangkep Regency, Indonesia

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of mesh size on the catches of small crab (Portunus sp.) both in number, carapace length (CL), and catchability between modified and control collapsible crab pot. This study used mesh size of the wrapping net (PE) from 2.5 cm (± 1 inch) to 7.0 cm (± 2.5 inches) with 20 units and 20 repetitions (trips). The results showed that different mesh size has a significant effect on the catch of the pot. However, the catch of a 2.5-inch mesh size- showed a larger carapace length = 42 individuals (85.7 %), while the escaped number was 44 individuals (63.7%) in the unfeasible category catch while the remaining 25 samples (36.2%) are eligible to catch. The Anova test on the catch of crab pot with a mesh size of 2.5 inches and 1 inch based on CL showed F-count > F_table (54.213 > 3.016) or sig. value <0.05 (0.00<0.05) which means that the size of the crab pot had a significant effect on CL. This identified that the size of the collapsible crab pot with a mesh size of 2.5 inches could pass small crabs and can only catch large crabs.