PANAJI
Around 30 fishermen and other entrepreneurs from Goa were taken by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Coastal Ecology and Marine Resources Centre, to Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, to familiarize them with the concept of crab farming.
TERI has been executing the project, ‘Demonstration and Training of Crab Farming in Goa', in partnership with NABARD.
According to TERI fellow Asha Giriyan, the main objective of the project was capacity building of the local community and other stakeholders in crab farming and cultivation via exposure visits to successful farms as well as demonstration-based training.
"This was achieved by showcasing the successful farming of crabs in Sindhudurg district, whose environmental conditions are similar to Goa."
"This exposure visit allowed the Goan fishermen and entrepreneurs to interact with the farmers practicing crab farming and understand the prospects of venturing into this livelihood option," said Giriyan.
Giriyan said 18 entrepreneurs were later selected for the training program at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), Sirkali, Chennai.
"Participants were given hands-on training on the methodology for the cultivation of crabs and the various water quality parameters that are required for maintenance of the pond that would safeguard optimal conditions for the growth of the crabs," said Giriyan.
A demo pond was then prepared at Batim as a demonstration site to showcase the crab cultivation technique in Goa.
The pond was stocked with juvenile crabs, or crablets, purchased from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture, Chennai. The crablets of approximate size of 2.5 cm were released in the demo pond at Batim by Annie Alexander, DDM, NABARD.
They were then fed and their growth was monitored for a period of eight months until they achieved harvestable weight of approximately 350 gms. "The demo site was visited by many interested farmers from across Goa. This demonstrated options for locals and entrepreneurs to take up crab farming as an additional livelihood options," said Giriyan.
With the high market demand and lucrative domestic and export price of live mud crabs coupled with available technology and adequate capitalization, opportunities for profitable mud crab farming are very encouraging.
"The mud crab resource is a natural bounty for our country, which has a potential to change the socio-economic status of the coastal communities," said Giriyan.
