The Hindu Business Line : Crabs likely to jostle for space in export basket

CRABS may soon claw into the aquaculture industry and jostle for space with shrimps in the aqua ponds, if the country's first mud crab hatchery prototype spawns success in commercial terms.

The commissioning of the hatchery on the Andhra University campus here as part of a project funded by the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science and Technology, forms part of the crucial stage of the project, which has already perfected the technology for crab culture.

``This is the first time we are transferring the technology from the laboratory to the field. We are prepared to give the technology to interested entrepreneurs,'' says the principal investigator of the project, Prof D.E. Babu.

The project was first initiated in 1996 when a few crablets were let into a pond for culture. Now, the hatchery prototype, which has been provided the facilities for megalapids (late-stage larva) and crablets, marks the technological accomplishment of the project. The hatchery, which has been provided with seawater intake and purification systems, is designed for rearing mother crabs and early/late larval stages of crabs, developing feed formulations for the larval stages and growing crablets (juvenile crabs).

The project involves two important stages — production of larvae and juveniles from the mother crabs in the hatchery and rearing the crablets in the aquaculture pond till they attain marketable size. Feed formulations for larval, juvenile and adult stages of crabs would be the key to the success of the mud crap hatchery project.

The success of the project is expected to bring about a significant change in the aquaculture landscape of the country, as crabs command a sizable market in Japan and the US, the prevailing price of crab meat being about Rs 340 a kg. Crab culture could also mark an important step towards diversification in the aquaculture industry, which continues to hinge on shrimp farming.

According to Prof Babu, crab fishery in India has so far been confined to the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on a low scale. What is advantageous in crab culture is that it was ideally suited for small and medium farmers and rotation of shrimp and crab crops could fetch rich returns, the scientist says.

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