Mangrove Crab Industry Profile
Mangrove crab, locally known as alimango, is the Philippinesā 6th most cultured species in terms of aquaculture production in 2020. Moreover, the Philippines remains to be one of the top producers of mangrove crab in the world. In 2020, PSA reported the Philippinesā total mangrove crab production at 20,766.25 MT. Northern Mindanao is the leading region with 7,759.36 MT, of which 6,812.38 MT came from the province of Lanao del Norte. Other notable provinces, with over 4,000 MT mangrove crab production each are Pampanga and Quezon. The three known species of mangrove crab in the Philippines are Scylla serrata, S. tranquebarica, and S. olivacea. They are distinguished by color patterns, relative size, spines, chromosome form, gamete development, and preferred habitats. In 2021, the average price of mangrove crab is Php 395.94 per kilogram.
The Philippine mangrove crab productionĀ is undertaken using polyculture systems in 30% of brackishwater fishponds in the country. The industry is estimated to require 36-45 million crablets annually, which currently is sourced out from the wild.
Problems in the Industry
The Philippines has been a pioneer in developing the basic technology for mangrove crab hatchery. However, the supply of broodstock is still inadequate for hatchery productionĀ which results to inadequate supply of crablets/juveniles for grow-out culture. Thus, mangrove crab production is still dependent on the supply of wild-caught crablets.Ā
The commercialization of the hatchery technology is constrained by the high production cost, low survival in nurseries due to cannibalism and diseases, lack of low-cost and practical artificial diets and use of banned and unregulated drugs for disease control.
- Price
- Production
- Policies and Programs
- Farm Gate Price
- Retail Price
- Wholesale Price
- Volume
- Value
- Area
- Yield
ISP for Mangrove Crab
The ISP for mangrove crab aims to refine existing protocols for mangrove crab hatchery, nursery and grow-out, and to demonstrate feasibility and viability of commercial mangrove crab hatcheries. The target outcomes are increased survival rate in hatchery, nursery, and grow-out, and to establish a sustainable mangrove crab production.
Strategic R&D
Strategic R&D is DOST-PCAARRDās banner program comprising all R&D activities that are intended to
generate outputs geared towards maximum economic and social benefits
Refined Mangrove Crab Hatchery Technology
The program titled āProgram A. Refinement of Mud Crab Hatchery Technologyā is composed of the following projects:Ā Project 1. Development...
Read MoreRefined Mangrove Crab Nursery Technology
The program titled āProgram B. Refinement of Mud Crab Nursery Technologyā is composed of the following projects:Ā Project 1. Refinement...
Read MoreRefined Mangrove Crab Grow-out Technology
The program titled āProgram C. Improvement of Feeds and Stock Management Practices for Mud Crab Grow-out Cultureā is composed of...
Read MoreDisease Management for Improved Mangrove Crab Production
The program titled āProgram D. Disease Management for Improved Mud Crab Productionā is composed of the following projects: Project 1....
Read MoreProgram E. Genomics Applications in Mud Crab Aquaculture and Resources Management
This program used high throughput DNA sequencing methods to generate novel SNP markers for stock delineation and traceability of natural...
Read MoreHarnessing emerging technologies for mangrove crab culture and resource management: āomics approaches, web-based and mobile computing technologies
The program titled āHarnessing emerging technologies for mangrove crab culture and resource management: āomics approaches, web-based and mobile computing technologiesā...
Read MoreApplication of exogenous metabolites in improving soft-shell mangrove crab production
The use of biotechnology specifically focusing on the metabolic pathways and metabolites (biogenic amines and terpenoids) directly involved with molting...
Read MoreMaximizing Pond Use through Mangrove Crab Fattening Cum Fish Culture to Improve the Livelihood of Farmers
Fattening of crabs is an easy-to-learn technology and can be a good means of improving the livelihood of coastal communities...
Read MoreTechnologies
Products, equipment, and protocols or process innovations developed to improve productivity, efficiency,
quality, and profitability in the agriculture and aquatic industries, and to achieve sustainable
utilization and management of natural resources
Low cost immunostimulants and growth promoting feed additives for mangrove crab
A project titled āA rapid cost-effective method to screen potential sources of immunostimulants and growth promoting feed additives for Scylla serrata using a functional genomics approachā, being implemented by the...
Read MoreMangrove Crab Hatchery
A project on Improvement of larval rearing hatchery under the program Refinement of Mud Crab Hatchery Technology was implemented to address the issues such as the high investment and cost...
Read MoreCrabifier Application
Of the three mangrove crab species in the Philippines, Scylla serrata, or the giant mangrove crab, is capable of growing faster and bigger compared to S. tranquebarica and S. olivacea....
Read MoreTechnology Transfer Initiatives
Adoption of Refined Commercial Scale Mud Crab Hatchery/Nursery System in Alaminos City, Pangasinan
The project will be implemented in Alaminos City, Pangasinan wherein a turn key arrangement will be forged by PSU with the Municipal LGU. With the funding support of PCAARRD, the...
Read MoreCapacity Building
Capacity building efforts of DOST-PCAARRD seek to develop and enhance the R&D capabilities of researchers
and academic or research institutions through graduate assistantships & non-degree trainings
and development and/or upgrading of research facilities
Infrastructure Development
Manpower Development
Policy Research & Advocacy
Analysis of policy concerns and advocacy of science-informed policies ensures that the AANR policy environment is conducive for S&T development
and investments
Improving the Supply Chain of Mudcrab in the Philippines: The Case of Central Luzon
The study notes that key players are able to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities expected from them, especially in meeting the volume requirement for the other chain members to properly operate. In certain occasions, the consignacion even acts as a bidder in the bulungan to meet the number of mudcrab needed by exporters. The level of trust among trading partners, as they have been working with each other for several years, was discovered to generate a market situation where efficiency and effectiveness is not fully compromised.
Ā
Still, various inefficiencies were observed in the supply chains. Occasional crablet shortage, crablet delivery delays, and distant source areas of crablets greatly add to the transaction costs on the part of mudcrab growers. While the bulungan system was observed to work in completing the transactions, it was also noted as an inaccurate way of price determination given its dependency on the buyerās willingness to pay. Other issues enumerated in the study include the lack of financial resources of mudcrab growers and traders, as well as external factors such as unfavorable weather conditions, flooding, typhoons, and water pollution.
Reference:
Porciuncula, F.L., Padilla, J.N., Saturno, J.O., and Parayno, R.S. (2014). Supply Chain Improvement of Mudcrab in Central Luzon Region (Phase 1: Evaluation Research). Los BaƱos, Laguna, Philippines: Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development – (Project Report)