The Blue Swimming Crab Fishers and Fishing Practices in Leyte and Samar, Philippines

Abstract

Blue swimming crab (BSC) industry contributes considerably to the region’s economy. Despite the extensive harvesting and marketing activities, there is no information on the people who make a living out of the BSC resource. This study provides suggestions to improve the management of BSC fishery by looking into the crabbers’ socio-demographic profile, crabbing gears, crabbing practices, and awareness of regulatory measures regarding BSC fishery management. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April to August 2014 in selected crabbing municipalities in five major fishing grounds of Eastern Visayas. Generally, the income of the crabbers and their family is way below the poverty threshold indicated for Eastern Visayas. This condition is aggravated by the lack of formal education among the crabbers and their members, which limits them from engaging in other livelihood opportunities. The marginal contribution from other livelihood sources to the household income is still insufficient to support other needs, particularly education. To increase the daily catch, crabbers resorted to unsustainable and destructive crabbing practices, which depletes further the resources. To address these issues, LGUs in partnership with other concerned organizations should formulate and implement programs and projects that will alleviate the living conditions of the crabbers. Moreover, the LGUs should implement national plans along with local legislation to ensure the regulation of BSC catching and selling. Crabbers must practice sustainable, cost-effective, and non-destructive crabbing activity to improve BSC production. Further studies into the biology, seasonality, and stock assessment are needed to craft appropriate science-based management framework.