Sand Crabs

Ovalipes australiensis

 

General
Physical Characteristics
Where Are They Found
Catch Limits & Legal Lengths 



General

Sand crabs belong to the Portunidae family, and are distributed throughout southern Australia, from Wide Bay in Queensland to Rottnest Island in Western Australia. This also includes Tasmanian waters. Sand crabs are also known as  surf crabs, particularly interstate.
 crab_sand
 


 

Physical characteristics

The sand crab is easily distinguishable from other swimmer crabs, as it has two blood red/mauve spots at the tail end of its carapace.

As is common with other members of the Portunidae family, the sand crab is adapted for swimming and is extremely agile. The sand crab has the ability to disappear into the sand very quickly, by using a backward swimming motion, using its flattened swimming legs to dig itself into the sand. The sand crab is most commonly found from the low water mark on beaches out to a depth of 100 metres.

The sand crab is a scavenger feeder, and can grow to at least 15cm carapace width.

Male

The male sand crab has a narrow tail flap on its underside. This tail flap is of similar colour to the rest of its underside.

Female

The female sand crab has a wider tail flap than the male sand crab. Female sand crabs can also be distinguished by the dark brown streaks that are present across this tail flap.

The large tail flap on the female sand crab is used to hold and protect the thousands of eggs, which are produced during spawning. It is an offence to take a female sand crab carrying eggs.

 

Where are they found?

In South Australia the sand crab is common throughout many ocean beaches and gulf waters. The sand crab is not often found in upper regions of the gulf, due to the increased salinity levels in these areas. Generally, the blue swimmer crab replaces the sand crab in these upper gulf regions, due to their higher resilience to increased salinity levels.

The sand crab is commonly caught from metropolitan jetties in South Australia. Sand crabs swarm along the coast at certain times of the year, and are easily caught from jetties with a simple drop net, with some fish or meat as bait.

 



Catch Limits & Legal Lengths 


Minimum legal length: 10 cm measured across the carapace from side to side myc_scrab

Catch limits apply to a combined catch of blue swimmer crabs and sand crabs
Personal daily bag limit: A total of 40 (including blue swimmer and sand crabs)
Daily boat limit: A total of 120 (including blue swimmer and sand crabs)
Restrictions: Females with external eggs are totally protected and must be returned to the water immediately.
 

Recreational fishers are not permitted to sell or trade their catch.