Bongbongan Kusmedy, Riski Agung Lestariadi, Abubakar Sambah, Henny Purwitasari, Delviega Aisyah Yasmin, Dewa Gede Raka Wiadnya
A total of 49,647 blue swimming crabs (28,554 males and 21,093 females) collected from the daily catches of 50 fishermen were examined between September 3 and February 28, 2025, comprising 3,768 fishing trips operating in and around the Banten Sea. This study aims to identify the gonadal maturity development of female crabs through visual and histological examinations. Visually, gonadal maturity can be classified into eight stages: (1) preparation, (2) maturing but eggs not yet ovigerous, (3) ovigerous with golden-yellow eggs, (4) ovigerous with orange eggs, (5) ovigerous with dusky-grey eggs, (6) ovigerous with brown eggs, (7) ovigerous with black eggs, and (8) spent stage with an easily opened abdomen. A total of 100 eggs from each ovigerous stage (levels 3–7) were sampled and examined using an Olympus inverted microscope at 40× magnification to measure egg diameter. The largest egg diameter was observed in brown ovigerous eggs (358 ± 22 µm). Individual eggs were then examined at 100× magnification to investigate embryonic development. The formation of the eyes began at the grey ovigerous egg stage and became clearly visible at the black ovigerous stage. Visually, the black coloration of the eggs was due to the dominant pigmentation of the developing embryo’s eyes. Histological examination confirmed that eye development begins during the early grey stage of ovigerous eggs. The carapace width of crabs at this gonadal stage averaged 12.09 ± 1.03 cm. However, crabs can already be considered mature at the yellow ovigerous egg stage, corresponding to a carapace width of approximately 9.2cm. Therefore, blue swimming crabs caught in the Serang Sea are likely ready to produce zoea larvae and release them from the female brood at a carapace width of around 10.0cm. This finding is in line with the Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia, which allows the capture of blue swimming crabs with a minimum carapace width of ≥ 10 cm. © 2026, Egyptian Society for the Development of Fisheries and Human Health. All rights reserved.
Post Graduate Program, Universitas Brawijaya Fisheries Agribusiness, MEXMA Spatial Planning, Histo-Technical Laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia; Ichthyofauna, Departemen of Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia
