Status of mud crab aquaculture in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has about 710 km of coastlines with 618,780 ha of mangrove tidal flats and 80,000 ha of associated areas which are suitable for brackishwater aquaculture. Mud crab culture has been practiced for many years in the coastal regions, particularly in southeast (Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Chokoria and Noakhali) and southwest (Khulna, Bagherhat and Satkhira) Bangladesh. In 1981, crab export became a stable business which ranked third among the fisheries export earnings. Bangladesh earns about US$6 million per year by exporting 1,500 metric tons of live mud crabs to Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Japan. Mud crab has been an incidental product arising from the culture of shrimps and other finfishes in ponds. Mud crabs were first exported in 1977 and since then farmers focused their attention to this species as an alternative to shrimp. However, mud crab farming is still dependent on wild resources. As the demand of mud crab in the international market increased, the number of crab gatherers also significantly increased. In addition, gathering of sub-adult crabs for fattening contributed to the depletion of adult crabs as breeders. Since the wild resources are under threat, management of resources and establishment of hatcheries are needed to sustain the mud crab industry in Bangladesh.