Our finding of equivalent survival differs from the only previous field
comparison for this species, which reported lower survival of hatcheryreared
blue crabs relative to wild counterparts in a single paired field
release (Davis et al., 2005a). The differing conclusions of our analysis
may be explained by numerous factors. As noted previously, the present
study includes a reanalysis of the data from Aberdeen Cove (Davis et al.,
2005a); however, we applied a new approach that incorporated both
size- and gear-specific efficiency estimates to calculate survival that
were not available at the time of the initial analysis (Davis et al., 2005b).
We also employed statistical modeling that explicitly incorporated
patterns of survival for hatchery-reared and wild cohorts over time,
which differed from the earlier study (Davis et al., 2005a) that compared
only the total observed and expected recoveries over the entire 60 day
experimental period. Additionally, new data from paired field releases
in Sheepshead Cove and Cadle Creek indicated survival was not different
at these sites.