Research on Microbiological Quality of Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) Caught from Mersin Bay

Abstract

In this study, the aim is to research the blue crab caught from 3 different regions of Mersin (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) in terms of microbiological quality In the study 180 samples were used and analyses were performed monthly between January-December 2014. In the study, Salmonella spp., Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Coliform group bacteria were researched. According to obtained results; Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae were not detected in any of 3 regions throughout the year. Coagulase- positive Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Coliform group bacteria were detected to have increased in both 3 study stations depending on temperature. As a result; environmental factors have great influence on the bacterial flora of freshly caught crabs.