Bangkok, 21 November 2013 1.6 million blue swimmer crabs have been released in Samut Sakhon Province in the hope of preserving marine resources in the gulf of Thailand.
The Department of Fisheries has released 1.6 million blue swimmer crabs, also known as blue manna crabs, into the sea at Samut Sakhon Province. According to Director General of Fisheries Department Niwat Sutemechaikul, blue swimmer crabs are very important to Thai economic growth, as nearly 3 billion baht worth of these crabs are exported each year, adding that demand for blue swimmer crabs is substantially high.
As most of the exported crabs come from fishing, not farming, the number of crabs has been rapidly declining, especially in the gulf of Thailand, where crab fishing is prevalent, causing crab fishermen in Samut Sakhon to struggle with limited resources. Therefore, the department was determined to release those marine animals back into the sea in order to rehabilitate marine resources. The released crabs were approximately 10-15 days old. The director also expected up to 25 million crabs to be released by the end of the program.
