Not Eating One Crab’s Eggs outside Its Shell Means Tens of Thousands of Baby Crabs Can Grow Up

Pak Nam Pran Local Fishing Group, Pranburi District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Not Eating One Crab’s Eggs outside Its Shell Means Tens of Thousands of Baby Crabs Can Grow Up

Who wants to eat a mother crab that’s overflowing with eggs and has been grilled bright orange? I imagine it must be delicious. Let me assure you that this is a major misconception because it is not as tasty as crab eggs in the shell. It tastes fishy, and the crab meat is not firm. Most importantly, eating crab eggs outside their shells interrupts the birth cycle of tens of thousands of baby crabs at once!

For a thorough explanation, we must describe the life cycle of a mother crab. When female crabs reach adulthood, their shells will contain red eggs. When they mate with males, the eggs will emerge from their shells. The mother crab will wait for the eggs to ripen before pushing them into the sea so they can hatch. Simply put, if the egg is orange, it will take another 4-7 days to hatch; if it is brown, it will take 3-4 days; if it is gray, it will take 2-3 days; and if it is black, it will hatch in 1-2 days. That means that if we eat crab eggs outside the shell, we eliminate the possibility of a large number of baby crabs being born because one mother crab can lay 200,000 - 2,800,000 eggs. Baby crabs have a survival rate of about 10%, which amounts to tens of thousands of them.

Consequently, efforts have been made to establish blue swimming crab banks in many areas with declining blue swimming crab populations. The Pak Nam Pran fishing farmer group serves as an interesting model for local fisheries conservation in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. That is, making a promise with the other fishermen in the group not to catch immature blue swimming crabs or crab eggs outside their shells. If a crab with eggs outside its shell is caught and purchased for further resale, they will deposit the eggs in the pond, wait for the crabs to remove all of the eggs, and then catch and sell the crabs. Following this, the baby crabs are released into the sea. The fishermen do not lose anything, but the Pran sea restores the crab population for them to catch for a long time.

And, with the ongoing support of the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation, in addition to improving the Crab Bank’s pond structure to aid conservation, there is research and survey that can actually increase the population of crabs and marine animals. The Foundation also promotes upgrading from fisheries farmers to business entrepreneurs by developing raw material processing areas and developing products together with academic groups through U Volunteer with Silpakorn University, Phetchaburi Information Campus, and adopting SALANA PGS standards to build trust among consumers so that the community’s conservation work is sustainable through income, demonstrating that conservation does not reduce the income of fishermen.

By perpetuating simple rules of consumption, such as “Don’t eat crab eggs outside the shell,” we can ensure that the Thai sea will continue to support a steady supply of tasty crabs for generations to come.