A profitable business venture, soft-shell crab farming, has become popular as it provides employment and income. As such, wild crab fisheries are being depleted.
To avoid further depletion of said resources, the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) published a manual.
Titled Soft-shell Crab Production Using Hatchery-reared Mud Crab (now called mangrove crab), the manual provides information on the development of mangrove crab hatchery and nursery technology, as well as further culturing the crablets to 60 to 100 grams in grow-out ponds. The manual also details the set-up of soft-shell crab production, which includes the facilities, equipment, and other supplies necessary for a successful production, as well as how to culture the crabs.
The manual also discusses the biology of mangrove crabs, which includes identification of mangrove crab species, molting, and autonomy and regeneration. It provides guidelines on pond site selection, pond preparation, and production of 60 to 100 grams juvenile crabs. Furthermore, it also presents the profitability of soft-shell crab production, and suggests that soft-shell crab production using hatchery-reared seeds is viable.
Although the profitability and other indicators are similar for soft-shell crab production using farmed wild crabs and hatchery-produced crabs, the latter seeks to resolve the decline in wild stocks. As such, soft-shell crab production using hatchery-reared crabs is more sustainable.
The manual was authored by SEAFDEC/AQD scientists, Dr. Emilia Tobias-Quinitio and Dr. Fe Parado-Estepa, Technical Assistant Gardel Xyza S. Libunao, and PCAARRD Senior Science Research Specialist Dr. Adelaida T. Calpe. Parts of the previous manual on Soft-shell Mud Crab Farming by Dr. Quinitio and Mae Myat Noe Lwin were incorporated in the latest manual.