Crab farming has gained immense popularity among around 5,000 families living on the coastal belt of the country.
Alongside shrimp, these families living in eight upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district including Moheshkhali, Chokoria, Pekua, Kutubdia, and Teknaf are earning a great deal of profit by cultivating crabs.
Little investment in crab cultivation can bring them profit, they said. As a result, these families are becoming solvent through taking up the project. Farmers earn Tk400,000 by cultivating crabs on one hectare of land that is not suitable for cultivating other fishes, according to locals.
A number of farmers told this correspondent that crabs were always available in the district but people knew little about how to cultivate them. People used to feed them to fishes. However, over time, crabs turned out to be a great source of income to the farmers and also for earning foreign currencies.
Shankar Barua, a crab trader of Kalamarchhara in Moheshkhali, said one large size crab is sold at Tk80–Tk120. The crabs are exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Farmer Aman Ullah started selling crabs in local markets by buying them from fishermen. At one stage, he became interested about cultivating crabs, and within two years, had made substantial profits.
Many unemployed youths go to him in order to learn the techniques of cultivating crabs.
Dilip Kumar of Khurushkul union of Cox’s Bazar sadar upazila said he had started crab farming alongside his shrimp business in the char area. Gradually he expanded the farm. Hunters brought him crabs from rivers.
Farmer Shahidullah of Teknaf upazila said usually the hunters go to rivers in a group of five to six. They collect crabs that enter rivers from deep sea during high tide and low tide. The crabs are then cultivated for 15-20 days in saline water to become harder. The soft crabs are sold at Tk60-70 per piece.
According to farmer Shubhash, there are around 500 crab farmers living in Chakaria. Around 8,000 people earn their living by supplying crabs from river to the farmers.
Some hunters said everyday they earn Tk500 to Tk1,100 on average by selling crabs those to farmers. The leasers in local markets buy crabs directly from them and sometimes sell those in wholesale markets in the capital.
Farmer Jahangir Alam of Badarkhali 2 area told the Dhaka Tribune that sometimes the crabs die out of diseases. Moreover, sometimes the wholesalers in Dhaka do not pay them due prices. They sought intervention of the government and authorities concerned in these matters. Also, they sought cooperation of the Department of Fisheries in solving field level problems in crab farming. Cox’s Bazar District Fisheries Officer Md Iqbal Harun said: “Ffisheries officers have been told to submit a report over the crab cultivation in the upazilas. The farmers will get help, if they want.”