Sport
14 December, 2025
Shell-ebrating healthy crabs
QUEENSLAND’s much-loved giant mud crab populations are in healthy shape, reaffirming the state government’s commitment to a world-class and sustainable fisheries industry.
A recent study led by Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and co-funded by the Australian Government through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) delivered vital insights into giant mud crab stocks and biology.
The study involved the analysis of approximately 20,000 giant mud crabs from across Queensland and used new genetic techniques and satellite tags to look into stock structure, carry out surveys to monitor population health and advance understanding of the regional biology of mud crabs, including the spawning migration of females.
The findings confirm Queensland’s male-only harvest policy and legal minimum size limit of 15cm are effectively protecting the species and there is no current threat to the sustainability of the state’s populations.
DPI principal fisheries scientist and lead researcher Dr Julie Robins said the study, not only generated new knowledge of giant mud crabs, but provided strong data and scientific reassurance that current management frameworks support healthy populations.
“Giant mud crabs are an iconic species and a vital part of Queensland’s fisheries, with our state accounting for 64% of Australia’s commercial harvest,” she said.
“A significant success was the robust genetic analysis of the mud crab populations along the east coast and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
“Queensland’s male minimum legal-size limit ensures a proportion of mature males are available to reproduce and over 90% of females sampled were mated and getting ready to spawn. This means there’s no shortage of mature crabs to produce the next lot of offspring.”
Dr Robins said the findings of the study provided important biological reference points to guide the harvest strategy and inform future research.
“This study has added tremendous value to our collective knowledge and laid the groundwork for future discussions about mud crab management in Queensland,” Dr Robins said.
“The collaborative nature of this project, working side-by-side with the commercial fishers, was invaluable. Their local knowledge was key to successfully gathering data on this iconic species.”
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