Mangrove crabs are exported commodities very promising. Based on data available at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Government of Indonesia, the demand of small crab and seafood restaurant entrepreneur United States alone reached 450 tons per month. The amount has yet to be fulfilled due to the limited nature of the catch in the cultivation and production is still very minimal.
There are two types of crabs that have commercial value, ie, mangrove crabs and small crab. In the world, mangrove crab itself consists of 4 species and the fourth was found in Indonesia, namely: the red mangrove crab (Scylla olivacea) or internationally known, red / orange mud crab, green mangrove crabs (S.serrata) which known as, giant mud crab, because of its size that can reach 2-3 kg per cow, S. tranquebarica (purple mangrove crabs) also can reach large sizes and S. paramamosain (white mangrove crabs). In Indonesia, the famous small crab species and the export value is Portunus pelagicus, also known as the Swimming Crab.
State of the crab exports not only Americans but also China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and several European countries in the region. A company in Tarakan that the crab collectors and exporters claim could only send 20 tons of crab per month to Korea, when demand reached 80 tons per month. Read the rest of this entry
