Kien Giang (VNA) – The Farmers Association in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giangplans to expand the breeding of ba khia (Sesarma mederi),a mangrove crab species, in protective mangrove forests in An Bien district.

In early 2017, theassociation started the model in the district’s Nam Thai commune after many ofthe households suffered losses from raising black tiger shrimp, fish and otherkinds of crabs in mangrove forests which they were assigned to protect andharvest products.  

Le Minh Khang, who wasallocated 8ha of protective forestry land in Nam Thai in 1992, said afterreceiving the land, he used 70 percent of the area to grow mangrove forests andthe rest to breed black tiger shrimp, crabs and fish.

In the first years,mangrove trees were small and water resources were clean, yielding profits fromblack tiger shrimp, crabs and fish.

However, mangrove treesare now bigger and their fallen leaves pollute water resources, affecting thebreeding of the aquatic species in the mangrove forest, according to Khang.

Similarly, manyhouseholds in the commune have suffered losses from breeding the aquaticspecies in mangrove forests and have switched to other jobs such as fishingnear shore or working for daily hire.

Under the support of theassociation, households chosen to breed the mangrove crab on a pilot basis weregiven 14.4 million VND (620 USD) for breeding the mangrove crab on an area ofone hectare and above.

The initial cost ofbreeding the mangrove crab is about 40 million VND (1,720 USD) per hectare. Themoney was used to buy breed crabs, nets and stakes to fence the breeding area,and other materials for breeding the mangrove crab.

The pilot breedingshowed that the mangrove crabs adapted to the forest environment, had asurvival rate of more than 50 percent, and reached an average weight of 30 -35crabs a kilo after six months of breeding, according to the association.

The pilot programmehelps protect the ecological system and mangrove forests.

Khanh was one of thefarmers who began breeding the mangrove crab on his eight-hectare mangroveforest area in early 2017. He released 250 kilos of the mangrove breed crabsinto a one-hectare breeding area.

He earned 60 million VND(2,580 USD) from selling the mangrove crabs he has harvested, about 15-20 kilosa night every three to four days.

Traders buy the crab for50,000 VND (2.1 USD) a kilo. Demand now exceeds supply.  

After the harvestseason, which is between lunar August and February, Khanh plans to continuebreeding the crab and will expand the breeding area.

Pham Minh Phan, deputychairman of the Nam Thai Commune Farmers Association, said: “The model hasproved effective and offered one more aquatic species for breeding in mangroveforests.”

"The model suppliesquality product to the market and creates jobs for locals," he said.

The Nam Thai CommuneFarmers Association has encouraged farmers to expand the model to improve theirincome.

The mangrove crab iseasy to breed, eats natural food and is less susceptible to disease. It is bredat a density of 20 crabs per square metre.

The mangrove crab digsholes and lives in them during the day and crawls out of the hole at night tostay on the ground or climbs on roots and branches of mangrove trees to eatfood.

In recent years, thenumber of mangrove crabs in the wild has fallen dramatically in the MekongDelta. It is used in many dishes, especially fermented mangrove crab, aspecialty in the delta.-VNA