Blue Swimming Crab: A New Entrapped Resource for Bangladesh Blue Economy

Author: Md Shamsul Alam Patwary, Abu Naim Muhammad Abdus Sabur, Shamima Yasmin, S. M. Mustafizur Rahman, Md Hasan Ali, Gaziur Rahman, Badrul Alam Shahin, Md Asadujjaman, Md Sharif Uddin, Muhammad Tanvir Hossain Chowdhury
DOI: doi.org/10.70279/bmj-v8-1035
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The Bay of Bengal is one of the major habitats of blue swimming crabs (BSC) in the world, although commercial catching of it is currently restricted by the government of Bangladesh.  However, it has a high demand but the present status and availability of the BSC is not well emphasized. Therefore, the study was designed based on the physical survey of the fishing communities and the fish landing centers covering the coastal belts of the country. Based on the survey, the approximate total volume of BSC by-catch was 14,150 ton/year and a small portion (approx. less than 5% only, i.e., approx. 707.50 ton/year) of this total catch was carried out by the fishermen to the landing ports for sell. The rest of the volume caught (approx. more than 95%, i.e., approx. 13,442.50 ton/year) was thrown away back to the Bay of Bengal. The current price in the market was very low, around 10-20 BDT/kg. Mainly it was caught as a by-catch, not being the regular catch. Currently, limited uses of the BSC by-catch include seafood item in local restaurants and as a low-price raw material for fish/poultry feed industries. As such, this volume of BSC by-catch made a considerable amount of post-harvest losses to our economy as a waste. In addition, the thrown back of the dead BSC by-catch in the sea water also imposed a threat to the marine environment which also demanded for proper attention of the concerned authorities. Thus, instead of allowing it to be a waste or a low value item, following the current practices of our neighboring and ASEAN countries, this wasted or low value BSC by-catch from the Bay of Bengal can be turned into an export earning resource and hence enhanced the growth of our blue economy, as it has high demand in the international market.