Mud Crab Farming in Sindhudurg

A Stock enhancement programme on Mangrove Crab in Mangrove Pens and Tide Fed Farms in Sindhudurg District was initiated in the month of

October 2013 under the UNDP-GEF Sindhudrg Project, being implemented by the Mangrove Cell, Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra. The project aims at mangrove crab stock enhancement by ranching and eco-friendly rearing in pens and tide fed impoundments in the

mangrove ecosystem of Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra through empowerment of traditional fishers. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) and Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing (NETFISH) are jointly involved in this 1.53 crore project. The major objectives of the project are to improve the livelihood of traditional fishers and to conserve mangrove fauna and flora.

The two year project will be carried out in two phases in the three talukas of Sindhudurg namely Deogad, Malvan and Vengurla. Through this pilot project, an eco-friendly ‘mangrove crab rearing technology’ will be transferred to the fishers in Sindhudurg District, by imparting them proper training and key inputs.

The Pilot project on crab farming to be carried out in 15 villages in two phases (6 villages for Phase I & 9 for Phase II) towards making this livelihood option economically and environmentally viable. The total area under mangrove crab farming is estimated to be 28.5 acres spread over 15 villages.

The project is funded by the UNDP-GEF Sindhudurg Project with a total assistance of US $ 240,000 (Rs.15 million) and is being implemented by the Mangrove Cell, Maharashtra State Forest Department.

The crab seeds are provided to the farmers for a mere $0.03 (Rs 2) per piece and will fetch farmers $16 (Rs 1000) per crab after nine months of harvesting.

Seeds are provided to farmers from MPEDA’s hatchery in Tamil Nadu on Fishers from Maharashtra involved in Nursery Grading during Hands on Training at RGCA Facility in Tamil Nadu.

a subsidised rate. Mud crab seed are produced at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), MPEDA in Tamil Nadu.The season for crab farming is from September to May and there is huge demand for mud crab in international markets. The crabs are grown at a farm that is located in the mangroves and covered by high density polythine nets (HDPN), which were also provided under the project. As the crab is grown in the natural environment, there is minimum capital investment need.

Each self-help group was supported for two pens of 1 acre each. Each pen of one acre, was stocked at the rate of 2000 seeds per acre, meaning a total of 4000 seeds stocked by each unit they operate.

At present, there is no organised aquaculture of mud crab in India, owing to weak suuply of crab seeds for farming. Thus, only crab fattening is being practiced at present by the coastal farmers/fishermen, where soft crabs/water crabs (freshly moulted crabs) caught in the wild are reared in brackish water tide fed ponds/pens in estuaries until they are hard and ready for marketing.

Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), the research & development (R&D) arm of the MPEDA, located at Thoduvai, Sirkali in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu has taken up R&D work on the production of mud crab seeds in the hatchery and has established a hatchery at Thoduvai Village, Sirkali, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu.

This hatchery has been regularly producing mud crab seeds reared to crablet sizes at its demonstration farm and supplying to farmers in the area.

Supply of hatchery produced seed can open up avenues towards commercialization of mud crab aquaculture in the coastal areas of the country, especially among the weaker sections of the society providing alternate livelihood oppertunity to the coastal communities. This would also strengthen the production base of mud crab as well as value added products for export.

The ponds / pens are stocked with crab-lets @ 0.5 nos. / Sq. mt, requiring, 4000 pcs per acre. The stocked crablets are fed with trash fish, starting at the rate of 6% of the body weight and gradually reducing to 3% of the body weight.

Given a survival rate of 50% till marketable size (600 gms.) and the crop period to be 6 months, the anticipated Production may be approximately of the order of 0.6 MT/Acre or 1.5 MT/ ha.