Expensive In Pasaran, Belitung Fisheries Service Trains Manpower Communities Of Bakau Crab

Mangrove crab cultivation activities use a silvofishery system with "crab ball" facilities in the Mangrove Parak Subak area, Air Saga Village, Tanjung Pandan, Belitung. (DOC. ANTARA)

The mangrove crab is known to have high economic value and promising results. Therefore, the Belitung District Fisheries Service, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, is now training the people in the area to cultivate it.

"We are training the People's Self-Help Group (KSM) Suak Parak Mangrove, Air Saga Village, Tanjung Pandan District to cultivate mangrove crabs," said Head of Aquaculture for the Belitung Fisheries Service, Rekie Irawan in Tanjung Pandan, as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, August 10.

According to him, initially KSM Suak Parak Mangrove was engaged in tourism by developing eco-tourism and preserving mangroves or mangrove forests in the area.

"Seeing this idea, the Belitung Fisheries Service is trying to increase the economic potential in the area while improving people's standard of living, the idea of mangrove crab cultivation activities will be published," he said.

He explained that so far people around the Sukak Parak Mangrove area have only caught mangrove crabs and immediately sold them to buyers.

"And that's with a limited size only a large one with a size above three ounces to sell, while the catched crabs with a size below three ounces they throw away and sometimes some die, because they have entered the bus catcher and then it is removed again, the crab dies," he said.

Therefore, his party regrets this condition why the catched crabs that were thrown away because the size under three ounces was not increased, so that the size could reach three ounces and above or even more to be sold to the market.

"If the crab caught in the wild is thin, it will be fattened through mangrove cultivation activities," he said.

Rekie explained that the mangrove crab cultivation is carried out using the "silvofishery" system so that it still pays attention to the preservation of mangrove forests.

"Metodes are with crab cages for crabs under three ounces and "crab balls" for crabs measuring three ounces and above, so that when crabs change their skin they can be more flexible because if the crab changes the skin if not optimal, it usually dies," he said.

It was said that the time needed for the enlargement and fatting of the mangrove crab was quite varied depending on the size of the captured time and the size of the consumption to sell.

"Because the capture time from nature is not uniform, so depending on the size of consumption, an average of three to four months can be harvested, but if the size of the crab is already large, it will be even faster, it can be sold for about one to two weeks," he said.

According to Rekie, the price of mangrove crabs with a size of 0.5 kilograms is currently pegged at IDR 60 thousand to IDR 80 thousand per kilogram, while mangrove crabs with a size above 0.5 kilograms are pegged at IDR 160 thousand to IDR 180 thousand per kilogram.

"For the market, it is very wide open, even for the needs in the regions there are still many lacking, so this activity has high economic value and it turns out that people are also interested in cultivating this," he concluded.