FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

The megalopae of three Scylla species can be captured from Tungkang Coast of Taiwan all year round . They were most abundant from April to September, followed in October, November and March in 1991 and the least from December to February. The composition of megalopae varied with seasons. Among the three species, S. paramamosain, S. serrata and S. olivacea each comprise 51.7%, 28.8%, 19.6% of the total yearly catch, respectively. In March, S. serrata and S. paramamosain each comprised half of the total with the absence of S. olivacea. In April, July and September, S. paramamosain is the most abundant, second by S. serrata and with S. olivacea being the least abundant. In May, June and October, S. serrata is the most abundant, second by S. paramamosain and with S. olivacea the least abundant. In August, S. olivacea is the most abundant, second by S. paramamosain and with S. serrata being the least abundant. In November, S. serrata comprised more than 90% of the total catch, S. olivacea comprise rest of them and with the absence of S. paramamosain. As for the growth, S. serrata was the fastest; followed by S. paramamosain and S. olivacea. S. serrata also has the biggest minimum biological size, but S. olivacea is the smallest.