A young Hyderabad-based techie, Pirati Kanumuru, has tapped potential of mangrove crab (Scylla serrata) cultivation in the artificial ponds near Konduru mandal headquarters in Krishna district. Mr. Kanumuru was born in Konduru mandal.

Managing to collect above 6,500 mangrove crabs from the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary and other mangrove patches in Krishna and Guntur districts for every 90 days, the techie is reaping profits by exporting them to Singapore and China. The Yanadi tribal families collect the crab from the mangrove forest.

Fattening technology

“I have recently held talks with middlemen to export the wild crab to a few South Asian countries. The talks are in a crucial stage now,” Mr. Kanumuru told The Hindu. Beginning with a pilot project testing the survival and feasibility to cultivate the wild crab in the artificial ponds in 2015, Mr. Kanumuru had spread the wild crab cultivation in the six acres now.

The growth of the wild crab being collected from the mangrove forest is fast. The crab would gain weight of up to two kilograms within the three months in the crab fattening technology. In the fattening technology, the crab is left to grow in the floating cage.

“In the international market, a kilogram live crab fetches ₹1,000 to ₹1,200. The profit on each crab for each cultivation season (three-months) is clearly double in the existing market prices,” added Mr. Kanumuru. The techie had installed Closed Circuit cameras covering all the ponds here, inspecting the groundwork and day-to-day developments through online from Hyderabad. The crab fattening technology enables to go for any inter-crop in the same pond as the cages with crab are required to float on the pond. “The existing United Nation’s guidelines will not encourage the mass collection of the wild crab (Scylla serrata) from the mangrove crab, citing a threat to the brackishwater species. There is a need to develop hatcheries to encourage the crab cultivation,” said Mr. Kanumuru.

Hatchery in Bapatla

The State government with the support of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture has proposed to set up a wild crab hatchery in Bapatla in Guntur district. In 2014, the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai, has introduced the crab fattening technology in Sorlagondi forest in Krishna district, involving the Yanadi tribal families those engaged in the collection of the wild crab from the mangrove cover.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Koduru (Krishna) , October 30th, 2017