Aquaculture 2025

March 6 - 10, 2025

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Add To Calendar 09/03/2025 08:30:0009/03/2025 08:50:00America/ChicagoAquaculture 2025ASSESSMENT OF SOFT-SHELL MUD CRAB Scylla olivacea FARMING TREND IN THE SOUTHWEST COASTAL REGION OF BANGLADESHStudio 8The World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

ASSESSMENT OF SOFT-SHELL MUD CRAB Scylla olivacea FARMING TREND IN THE SOUTHWEST COASTAL REGION OF BANGLADESH

Mohammad Abdul Baki*, Md. Masudul Haque, Shilpi Saha, Anirban Sarker

Department of Zoology

Jagannath University

9-10 Chittaranjan Ave, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh

01 mabaki@gmail.com

 



Soft-shell mud crab (Scylla olivacea) farming in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh has emerged recently as a viable alternative livelihood option for poor and landless coastal families, and vulnerable peoples due to climate change impact instead of live crab and black tiger shrimp farming. Because huge demand from the international market and high returns. This study aims to determine the growth pattern of soft-shell crab farming and future prospects. This assessment includes different farm management practices like crab seed harvest & stocking, feed & labor management, and export earnings. The results divulged that more than 380 farms are currently functioning in the study area, having 278.39 ± 20.90 acres of land accommodation and 5.55 ± 0.42 million seed crabs in demand in each cycle. The active percentage of soft-shell cages decreased from 99.43 ± 2.12% to 67.04 ± 4.75% while the feed demand/cycle increased from 3.00 ± 0.23 mt to 255.84 ± 23.33 mt during the investigated period (Fig. 1). The number of plastic cages increased from 0.05 ± 0.03 million to 5.55 ± 0.42 million whereas the wild harvesting amount decreased from 10.35 ± 2.07 to 4.38 ± 0.83 kg/day/person (Fig. 2) represents an inverse relationship. It was observed that farmers stock wild crablets and catchers reported that the natural stock of crabs is dwindling every year. Crabs fed with crushed Tilapia fish every 3 to 4 days at a ratio of approximately 5–8% of the total biomass of crab. So, crab hatchery development and formulated feed supply are inevitable for the sustainable growth of this sector. The survey shows that approximately 1200 kg of waste is produced annually by a farm with an area of 1 bigha pond. Soft shell farms created significant employment for local women and landless households. In Bangladesh, its export rank is reached above live crab within five years. These is 100% export-oriented product and export to USA, Australia, United Kingdom, China etc. Soft-shell crab farms can develop different types of entrepreneurs like crab hatchery, feed technology, nursery farm, etc. which will create job opportunities for local people.