46 DECEMBER 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG FIGURE 3. Mortality in cage and pen culture systems. billion seafood export market in 2020-2021. But now, everything has changed. The first major outbreak of MCRV in India, confirmed by Sravani et al. (2022), has spread rapidly through farms and wild populations alike, resulting in significant challenges for the industry. We spoke to crab fishers along the east coast, and their stories are also grim. One fisherman, who used to catch 100 kg of crabs a day, is now barely managing 10 kg. Overfishing, pollution, and possibly even the spread of viral infections into wild populations may have decimated the wild stocks. MCRV has also been reported in the wild population by the team of researchers from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA). The Pathogenicity of MCRV MCRV is a double-stranded RNA virus that attacks crabs’ vital organs, leading to a rapid death. Farms are reporting infection rates India’s mud crab industry is facing an unprecedented challenge, yet the full scale of this threat remains insufficiently addressed within and beyond the sector. Along the east coast of India, some farmers are watching helplessly as their crabs die in staggering numbers. In just 25 days, some farms have lost all their stock. The reason? Reports suggest that Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV)—a deadly pathogen that previously impacted China’s mud crab industry may be responsible. Some farms that once thrived are now filled with empty ponds and dead crabs. What was once a booming business is now at the brink of collapse for many. A Once-Thriving Industry in Decline Just a few short years ago, mud crab farming in India was a success story. Crab suppliers from the south-eastern region were pulling in up to 500 kg of crabs every day. The mud crab industry was a key part of India’s $6.68 India’s Mud Crab Industry: Challenges and Strategic Solutions Naveen Nivas S, Dinesh Kaippilly, Ayyaru Gopalakrishnan, Savva Sravani, Anisha Shafni John, Saranya Dayalane, Keerthika Ganesan and Geeji MT FIGURE 1. Mass Mortality in one of the crab farms in Tamil Nadu. FIGURE 2. Mass Mortality in one of the crab farms in Andhra Pradesh. India’s mud crab industry is facing an unprecedented challenge, yet the full scale of this threat remains insufficiently addressed within and beyond the sector. Along the east coast of India, some farmers are watching helplessly as their crabs die in staggering numbers. In just 25 days, some farms have lost all their stock. The reason? Reports suggest that Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV)—a deadly pathogen that previously impacted China’s mud crab industry may be responsible.
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