Crabs fattened in Lamu as an alternative livelihood

Crabs are mostly active animals with complex behaviour patterns, such as communicating by drumming or waving their pincers.

They tend to be aggressive toward one another.

The crabs look ugly and the males often fight to gain access to females.

To the Pate Resources and Tourism Initiative (Prati) group, however, crab fattening is their new money-making venture.

Pate is rich in fish variety, sea turtles and birdlife.

And where Pate lacks in sandy beach or terrestrial wildlife, it makes up for it with rich marine and bird life, priceless historical and cultural heritage, and thriving mangroves.

Africa’s mangroves provide immense riches.

Lamu county hosts about 60 per cent of Kenya’s mangroves, which also harbour eight of the nine species found in the country.

Lamu’s communities have had a long history and cultural connection to the mangroves, utilising them for various purposes like construction, fuel and traditional practices.

Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees and shrubs in the intertidal regions of the tropical and subtropical coastlines, thriving where fresh water mixes with seawater.

They grow in five counties: Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Mombasa and Tana River.

Mangroves are in tidal estuaries, creeks and protected bays.

Lamu has the most mangrove forests at 92,293 acres, followed by Kilifi at 21,092 acres, Kwale at 20,643 acres, Mombasa at 9,318 acres, and Tana River at eight acres.

Mangroves are not only breeding sites for fish but are also loved by crabs.

Pate Resources and Tourism Initiative group has been at the forefront of protecting mangroves.

The group is now engaged in the fattening of the crabs.

“Our capacity was built at Dabaso before starting this project,” Swaleh Abdalla, 30 said.

He said the crabs feed on small fish. The group buys food before stocking in a freezer.

“We get the crab from local dealers before placing them in cages,” Abdalla said. The cages are labelled for monitoring purposes.

Sometimes, the crabs die. This is if the site where cages are placed is not good, he said.

If they are placed in areas with mud, they will not be able to breathe.

GOOD MONEY

They buy small crabs at between Sh200 and Sh300 per kilo.

Each kilo of crabs may be having up to 10 individuals.

Each individual will then be placed in its own cage. This is to prevent fights that can injure or kill them.

One crab weighing one kilogramme can fetch Sh2,400. Each crab is sold when it weighs between 700 and 800 grammes to fetch good money.

Natural mud crab fisheries are highly exploited, and fishing pressure is high.

The demand has led to a big increase in the illegal sale of small, undersized crabs.

Crab fattening is essentially stocking soft-shelled crabs or water crabs that are held in smaller impoundments for 20-30 days until the shells are hardened and they flesh out.

Mud crabs inhabit marine as well as brackish water environment.

They are seafood that is now in high demand.

There are four species of mud crabs: Scylla serrata, S. tranquebaria, S. paramosain, and S. olivacea.

Scylla serrata is preferred for fattening as they are readily available in the coastal waters, in the in-shore seas, estuaries, backwaters, coastal lakes and mangrove swamps.

Scylla serrata is locally called ‘giant mud crab’. The colour is greenish with white polygonal markings on the swimming and walking legs, chelipeds, and carapace and with orange claws.

It has deep serration and pointed frontal spines.

Mud crabs are omnivorous and preferably feed on mollusk, slow moving animals and camouflage in the muddy areas.

Mud crab fattening has been considered as a most profitable venture for small-scale aquaculture.

This is because the turnover is fast, and the period between investment and returns is relatively short.

The fattened crabs can be stocked at higher densities (15 crabs/square metres) compared to grow-out systems (1 crab/square metres).

This is because no moulding occurs and, therefore, losses due to cannibalism are reduced to a great extent.

Short production time also reduces the risk of losing crabs to disease, thus enabling a higher survival rate for fattening.

CRAB MEAT BENEFITS

Crab meat serves as a good source of proteins and essential vitamins. It also contains phosphorous, zinc, calcium and a small quantity of fat.

Abdalla said plans are in place to sell the fattened crabs once their upcoming ecotourism facility is up and running.

Already, the Kenya Forest Service has granted them a special use licence to carry out development activities within a forest reserve.

Abdalla said the surplus will be sold even outside the country.

He said feeding them ensures they increase their weight and hence fetch more money.

“Every day, we give each crab about 10 to 15 grammes of food. When we buy each crab, it is 300 grammes, but when it moulds, it adds another 200 grammes,” he said.

They have 200 trays, each accommodating two crabs.

Abdalla said those who want to venture into crab fattening must be trained on how to do it and the challenges associated with the new venture.

Mohammed Ali, 35, said he feeds the crabs daily.

He said consistent feeding ensures that the crab moulds and gains weight.

Ali said the crab is not fed for five days after it has moulded.

In March 2022, Pate Resources and Tourism Initiative was among seven community and civil society groups engaged by Wetlands International in an Organisational Capacity Assessment.

It aimed to identify areas for improvement, such as governance, resource sharing, conflict management, ecotourism management, bookkeeping, marketing and guest relations.

The assessment prompted the collaboration and the need to build Prati’s capacity.

Wetlands International project officer Shawlet Cherono said the crab fattening initiative is part of eco-tourism activity by Prati.

“Most tourist love crabs. The degradation of mangroves has led to the decline of fish,” she said.

Cherono said fishermen nowadays take a lot of time looking for fish.

“When they come back, they return with either little fish or less kgs. This is an alternative source of livelihood,” she said.

“We are also putting up an ecotourism facility and they should embrace crabs. The community will be having their own supply of crabs and they will not have to buy.”

Cherono said the crab project will also contribute to the protection and conservation of mangroves as crab fattening is directly linked to it.

Prati has also diversified and is now doing beekeeping and other income-generating activities.

BLUE ECONOMY

The blue economy plays a crucial role in countries' GDP.

The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) said the blue economy sector plays an important role in the social and economic development of Kenya and other developing countries.

KMFRI's mandate is to undertake research in marine and freshwater fisheries, aquaculture, environmental and ecological studies.

It also undertakes marine research, including chemical and physical oceanography, to provide scientific data and information for sustainable development of the blue economy.

KMFRI said the fisheries sector is currently a major source of rural employment, which is in line with the government policy of curbing rural-urban migration.

More than 1.2 million Kenyans depend on the sector directly or indirectly as source of livelihoods, employment and other economic sustenance.

The sector also provides fish to nearly eight out of every 10 households in the country.

The demand for fish as food has increased over the years, especially in traditionally non-fish-eating communities.

The per capita fish consumption in Kenya stands at 4.6 kg/person/year.

This is relatively lower compared to Africa, where the average fish consumption stands at 10.1 kg/person/year.

The Economic Survey of 2023 showed that fishing and aquaculture contributed 0.5 per cent to nominal GDP in 2018 and 0.6 per cent in 2019 and 2020.

In 2021, it contributed 0.7 per cent and in 2022, it contributed 0.6 per cent.

The 2023 survey shows that the total value of fish landed increased by 6.1 per cent to Sh 31.1 billion in 2022.

The value of fish landed from fresh water sources increased from Sh 23 billion in 2021 to Sh 24.1billion in 2022.

FAO said the global fish consumption has increased at an average of about 1.5 per cent annually from 9kg/person/year in 1961 to 20.2kg/person/year in 2015.

The increased dependence on capture fisheries has led to over-exploitation of stocks and poor and destructive methods of fishing.

Fish productivity depends on the habitats that support them, which in turn are sensitive to climate change effects, such as increase/changes in sea surface temperatures, decline in water quality and quantity.

These climate change effects can lead to a decline in fish stocks and fish production, thus compounding the existing pressure on capture fisheries.

Coastal areas support the largest human settlements as well as economic activities, leading a high ecological pressure on coastal ecosystems.

According to FAO, oceans, seas, coastal areas and the associated blue economy are critical to global and national development.

Unsustainable coastal development is contributing to irreversible damage to the habitats, affecting ecological functions and biodiversity.

FAO is promoting “Blue Growth” as a coherent approach for the sustainable, integrated and socio-economically sensitive management of oceans and wetlands.