Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will establish the state’s first mud crab hatchery in Paradip at an investment of Rs 2.31 crore, a minister said.
The hatchery, which will have a production capacity of 5,00,000 seed units, will fulfil a long-standing demand of fishermen, Forest, Environment & Climate Change Minister Ganeshram Singh Khuntia said Wednesday.
He expressed optimism that the hatchery will reduce the dependence of mud crab farmers on Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) in Chennai for seeds, improve their financial standing and make Odisha a hub of mud crab seed production.
Hatchery-produced mud crab seeds, known as crab instars or larvae, are produced through artificial breeding techniques, a technology pioneered in India by RGCA.
A tripartite agreement will be finalised between the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department’s ECRICC-GCF (for providing financial support), the state Fisheries Directorate, and RGCA (for offering technical expertise) to facilitate implementation of the initiative.
The ECRICC (Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities) project is already supporting coastal districts such as Puri, Ganjam, Balasore, and Kendrapara, an official statement said.
Initiatives include sea grass and salt marsh restoration with IIT Bhubaneswar’s support, scientific mud crab farming with high returns and export potential, seaweed cultivation support for 70 farmers, training for 28,201 farmers, and empowerment of 304 women as climate champions, it said.
The fishermen in the coastal district earn their livelihood by catching mud crabs when the state imposes a three-month fishing ban every year from April 15 to June 14 to protect fish during the breeding period.
During the ban period, the fishermen in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts catch crabs in the nearby rivers and creeks, Kendrapara District Fishermen’s Association vice president Arjun Mandal said.
He said that while the crab trade is a supplementary income for fishermen during the normal season, its value increases during the ban period.
Traders purchase crabs at the rate of Rs 200 to Rs 300 per kg from the fishermen during the peak season.
PTI
