On March 28, 2017, the Bureau of Marine Resources (BMR) initiated a Mangrove Crab Project in collaboration with the Palau Community College Cooperative Research Extension (PCC CRE) and the Palau Aquaculture Cooperative Association (PACA). The project was developed to address the increasing pressure placed on our local mangrove crabs given its market demand and the sustainability of current harvesting levels. With expert advice from the government of Thailand, the collaboration set-up a pilot project that attempts to increase the success rate for mangrove crab reproduction.
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Under this project, PACA will purchase female mangrove crabs from the public with a carapace measuring at least six inches in length at the price of one hundred dollars ($100) per crab. The mangrove crabs will be transferred to PCC CRE or BMR where they are reared until they are ready to reproduce. Technicians will then transfer them into containment units called crab banks that are established at certain areas around the coast where the crabs will eventually release its eggs. Current capacity limits the amount of mangrove crabs that can be received to fifty (50) but once the facilities are ready to receive more an announcement will be made to the public.
The project aims to increase the reproductive yield of mangrove crabs to replenish wild populations and to encourage the harvesting of mature crabs while allowing juveniles to thrive. Anyone interested in selling mangrove crabs can call PACA President, Ms. Bernice Ngirkelau at 775-4774. [/restrict]