Enhancing mud crab population through mangrove restoration
Abstract
Mangroves are known as important nurseries for different species of fish and shellfish. In the Philippines, mud crabs Scylla spp. are among the most valuable crustaceans harvested from the mangroves and are considered a delicacy. However, varying levels of overfishing have been reported in different parts of the country. The decrease in production may be due to increasing demand for the resource and the loss of mangrove habitat. This problem may be addressed through regulation of fishing effort, rehabilitation of habitats, mangrove-friendly aquaculture and enhancement of wild crab stocks. This study shows the effect of mangrove rehabilitation on mud crab population.From July 2010 to December 2011, a total of 2.166 tons of mud crabs (n=17,558) have been collected from a 66.5 ha abandoned pond that has been recolonized by mangroves. The catch was dominated by S. olivacea (79.96%), then S. tranquebarica (19.92%) and S. serrata (0.12%). Male to female ratio was at 1.09:1. Individual daily yield ranged from 0.06 to 8.4 kg while catch per unit effort in terms of quantity and biomass ranged 0.02-1.46 crab gear-1 day-1 and 1.1-213.54 g gear-1 day-1, respectively. The results showed that mud crab population in this study site was much higher than the population in the reforested (Walton et al., 2006, 2007) and natural mangroves (Lebata et al., 2007) with almost the same area. For 18 months of sampling (April 2002-September 2003), only 3,924 crabs were sampled in the natural mangroves while 10,504 in the reforested mangroves. Mud crab production in the present study site resulted in a yield of 21 kg ha-1 yr-1, 5 and 3 times higher than the yield reported in the natural and reforested mangrove areas, respectively. These results imply that habitat restoration can be very effective in restoring natural populations of mud crab.
Description
Abstract only.
Citation
Lebata-Ramos, M. J. H., Doyola-Solis, E. F., Sibonga, R. C., Biñas, J. B., Walton, M., & Le Vay, L. (2017). Enhancing mud crab population through mangrove restoration. In E. T. Quinitio, F. D. Parado-Estepa, & R. M. Coloso (Eds.), Philippines : In the forefront of the mud crab industry development : proceedings of the 1st National Mud Crab Congress, 16-18 November 2015, Iloilo City, Philippines (p. 158). Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines: Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. http://hdl.handle.net/10862/3194
Publisher
Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development CenterSubject
Type
Conference paperISBN
9789719931072Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Article
Larval rearing of mud crab (Scylla): What lies ahead
-Aquaculture , 2018 - ElsevierThe increasing global demand for mud crabs (genus Scylla) and threats to the wild populations highlight the urgency of fully rearing them in captivity. Despite considerable progress in mud crab production, most crab farms still rely heavily on wild-caught crablets and juveniles while the low and inconsistent success rates of larviculture remain as the main bottleneck impeding the development of mud crab aquaculture. Over the years, numerous studies have been conducted to determine the optimum larval rearing parameters, the ontogenic changes in digestive function and feeding behaviour, and the diets for different larval stages. These data, however, are dispersed and not summarised to inform culture practices. This review provides an update on the current progresses and to pinpoint the gaps in knowledge regarding mud crab larval rearing. We include all four mud crab species under the genus Scylla, i.e. Scylla serrata, Scylla olivacea, Scylla tranquebarica and Scylla paramamosain. Knowledge compiled in this review serves as an important guideline for prospective mud crab larviculture. Future research should gear towards filling in the gaps in our knowledge to advance mud crab larval rearing, thus fully incorporating mud crab into the aquaculture sector. -
Image
Life cycle of mud crab
- 2011 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development CenterResearched and conceptualized by Emilia T. Quinitio. -
Conference paper
Updates on the seed production of mud crab
- In MRR Romana-Eguia, FD Parado-Estepa, ND Salayo & MJH Lebata-Ramos (Eds.), Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia: Challenges in Responsible Production … International Workshop on Resource Enhancement and Sustainable Aquaculture Practices in Southeast Asia 2014 (RESA), 2015 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development CenterWidespread interest in mud crab species is increasing because these are highly prized both in domestic and export markets. Among the three mud crab species commonly found in the Philippines, Scylla serrata, S. olivacea, and S. tranquebarica, S. serrata is preferred by farmers because it is larger and less aggressive than the other species. Likewise, S. serrata is the most widely distributed species in the Indo-west Pacific region. Hatchery-produced seedstock are presently used by some crab farmers in their grow-out operations. In the hatchery phase, feeding mud crab larvae with shrimp formulated diets and natural food was found to reduce the occurrence of molt death syndrome, one of the major problems in seed production. Larvae given 25% formulated diet (FD) + 75% natural food (NF; rotifers and Artemia) and 50% FD + 50% NF showed better performance than those larvae fed 100% FD, 100% NF and 75% FD + 25% NF indicating that usage of natural food, especially the expensive Artemia, can be reduced. Since the early crab instar (C) produced in the hatchery need to be grown further before stocking in grow-out ponds, two phases of nursery culture have been developed. C1-2 are grown to 1.5-2.0 cm carapace width (CW) size in the first phase and further grown to 3.0-4.0 cm CW in the second phase. Nursery rearing is done in net cages installed in ponds for easy retrieval. A combination of mussel or trash fish and formulated diet is used as feed. Domestication of the mud crab S. serrata as a prerequisite to selective breeding has been done at SEAFDEC/AQD. Likewise, defining criteria for the determination of quality of newly hatched zoeae for stocking in the hatchery was initiated. Newly hatched zoeae were subjected to starvation and stress test using formalin. Starvation failed to elicit responses that were significantly different between the good and poor quality larvae hence it is not suitable for larval quality evaluation. Based on three-year data, the formalin stress test gave mean cumulative mortalities of 2.38±0.32, 8.24±0.88, 20±1.58 in good quality larvae, and 43.74±2.39 while 22.93±4.19, 63.68±7.17, 84.29±3.88 and 97.65±1.06 for poor quality larvae at 0 (control), 20, 30 and 40 ppm formalin, respectively. As formalin level increased, cumulative larval mortality also increased regardless of the quality of the larvae. Formalin stress test proved to be a reliable method to determine whether a batch of newly hatched zoeae was of good or poor quality.
