The mud crab aquaculture industry, despite being highly lucrative, especially in regions like Southeast Asia and India, faces persistent challenges that threaten its sustainability and long-term growth. Disease outbreaks, particularly the Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV), have emerged as a critical issue. MCRV, responsible for 100 percent chronic mass mortalities in mud crab farms, has devastated the industry, and its presence has been reported across India’s farming systems as well as in wild populations (Weng et al., 2007; Sravani et al., 2022; Ganesan et al., 2023; Sravani et al., 2024; John et al., 2024). This pathogen poses a severe threat, making disease management the foremost concern in mud crab culture.
Beyond disease, sustainability issues related to feed further complicate mud crab farming. In developing countries like India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, the high cost of commercial feeds designed specifically for mud crabs makes their consistent use impractical for many farmers. While formulated feeds offer balanced nutrition, research shows that there is no significant difference in the growth performance of mud crabs fed low-value fish compared to those fed formulated feeds. Thus, farmers continue to rely heavily on low-value fish, an unsustainable practice that over-exploits marine resources and contributes to environmental degradation.
Additionally, cannibalism, though often considered a secondary issue, worsens both disease transmission and mortality rates. It has been found that diseases like Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV) lead to high mortality rates in open culture systems, where individual crabs are not isolated. However, in compartmentalized systems, survival rates can improve by up to 60%, demonstrating that cannibalism plays a significant role in worsening disease transmission. When a healthy crab consumes an infected dead crab, it further aggravates the spread of the virus, making the situation even more critical in case of MCRV (Nivas et al., 2023).
These three interconnected issues—disease outbreaks, unsustainable feeding practices, and cannibalism—are undermining the potential of mud crab aquaculture, a sector vital to the livelihoods of many coastal communities. Addressing these challenges demands immediate, innovative solutions that can enhance the sustainability, efficiency, and economic viability of the industry. Without such interventions, the mud crab aquaculture industry risks stagnation and decline, impacting both local economies and global seafood markets.