Imelda Saad Channel NewsAsia 24 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: Mud crabs are an essential ingredient in a favourite Singaporean dish - Chilli crab. To ensure a reliable supply of mud crabs in Singapore and the region, researchers from Temasek Polytechnic are now trying to breed them in a controlled environment.
It has never been done before in Singapore, and with little success in the region. That is because of the many challenges involved in breeding these crustaceans.
Mud crabs undergo several metamorphoses. At the second stage of their life cycle, they become cannibalistic and attack one another.
Breeding these crabs is a long and laborious process. The first batch of baby crabs in the facility died about four to five days after hatching and did not go past the larvae stage. The second batch of crab larvae has just hatched. A survival rate of 10 to 15 per cent would be considered successful.
Mithun Sukumaran, a research scientist at the Temasek Polytechnic's School of Applied Science, said: "If you look at the number of eggs from a parent, it is like millions. Five to six million eggs come out from a parent but we are getting a fraction of it. So if we can get a considerable amount of that, it will be a huge benefit for the industry."
The team at the polytechnic sees potential benefits in its study, as over-harvesting has led to a dwindling supply of mud crabs in the wild. Such crabs are usually harvested from countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
To improve the survival rate, researchers are tinkling with the type of live feed given to the baby crabs and experimenting with different types of structures that can provide a hideout so that the crablets would not attack and devour one another.
The team has been awarded funding by Resorts World Sentosa's Marine Life Park, which is hoping that the breeding technique used could be applied to other aqua species.
Cynthia Wong Yee Man, assistant manager of conservation at Resorts World Sentosa's Marine Life Park, said: "If this project is successful, the system being used can also be used to culture other species that are vulnerable, such as flower crabs or shrimps that are also heavily harvested from the wild."
- CNA/al
