Velvet Swimming Crab (Necora puber)

Velvet swimming crab (fig. 1) are a fast-moving medium sized crab, around 10cm across in carapace (shell) width. Their body is covered in short hairs which are soft to the touch, giving the look and feel of velvet. They have bright red eyes and a blueish tinge to the legs and tips of the claws. Their typical lifespan is 4-5 years (Scottish Seabird Centre, n.d.; The Wildlife Trusts, n.d.). 

Habitat, Distribution, and Status:
Velvet swimming crab can be found in the intertidal zone in rockpools and in shallow waters below the tideline, most abundantly on moderately sheltered shorelines (Wilson, 2008; The Wildlife Trusts, n.d.). They can be found all around the coastline of the UK and are considered a common species (Scottish Seabird Centre, n.d.; The Wildlife Trusts, n.d.).

Stock Assessment of Velvet Swimming Crab:
Velvet swimming crab are a common species caught using baited creels by Scottish creel fisheries, alongside brown crab and lobster. Stock assessments for velvet crab in Scotland were carried out by Marine Scotland Science (MSS) between 2016 and 2019. The top four areas, accounting for 80% of velvet crab landings between 2016 and 2019, were the Hebrides, Orkney, South Minch, and the East Coast. Landings in the East Coast rapidly increased in 2005, fluctuating since around 1600 tonnes per annum (Mesquita et al, 2023). Between 2016 and 2020, the East Coast had the following percentage of total landings into Scotland of velvet crab:
2016 - 12.9%
2017 - 19.2%
2018 - 18.1%
2019 - 18.7%
2020 - 20.0%

Stock assessments for velvet crab consider the rate of fishing mortality which maximises the yield per recuit, often symbolised as F_MSY. Stocks fished above F_MSY are considered to be overexploited. As can be seen in fig. 2, along the East Coast and many other areas around Scotland velvet swimming crab were fished above F_MSY for both males and females between 2013 and 2015, and therefore the population is considered fully exploited or overexploited.