A hatchery for mud crabs will come up in Maharashtra to boost the country’s seafood production, as the Marine Products Export Development Authority is set to support the facility in Sindhudurg district.
The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) under Mpeda will lend technical aid to the hatchery with an annual production capacity of ten lakh mud crabs. The facility is to be set up in Vengurula taluk of the Konkan region.
To be built at swampy Vageshwer village, known for its mangrove forest, which is the ideal habitat of the mud crab, the hatchery (500 km south of Mumbai) will provide additional livelihood to fisher-folk without damaging the ecosystem.
The move to install the facility comes in the wake of a surge in demand for the mud crab (Scylla serrata) in both domestic and international seafood markets. The mud crab has high market value thanks to its robust size dense meat, taste, nutritive value and texture.
The upcoming nursery will rear crabs to juveniles of marketable size by fattening them in eco friendly ponds. The hatchery will stick to the standards set by the Tamil Nadu-based RGCA, which is a research and development arm of the MPEDA that coordinates fishery production and allied activities between central and State government establishments.