For the sake of others’ appetite

The agriculture scenario changed forever after the first step was taken to control the natural flow of freshwater into the coastal areas from the upstream.

A hard-shelled crab, weighing nearly 500gm, at a shop of Kolbari crab market in Shyamnagar. This market is dedicated only to buy and sell locally fattened hard-shelled crabs. Photo: Mumit M

The saltwater started to contaminate the lands and as a result,  the croplands were turned into fish farms, which is currently growing saltwater shrimp, a major export item of Bangladesh.

A worker carries a pile of empty boxes at a commercial crab farm at Burigoalini in Shyamnagar. Photo: Mumit M

In recent times, mud crabs cultivation picked up at Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira, the south-western district of Bangladesh, following overseas demand particularly from countries like China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.

In 2009, Cyclone Aila broke embankments and flooded the fields, making them exceedingly saline.

A shed of the Farid Nine Stars Agro Foods, a commercial soft-shelled crab farm owned by a Chattagram based organisation in Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira. Most of the owners of the big- and middle-sized soft-shelled crab farms are not locals. Photo: Mumit M

As a result, most residents turned to aquatic cultivation targeting mainly tiger shrimp and mud crabs.

Harvested crabs are kept in a bucket of fresh water at a crab farm at Burigoalini in Shyamnagar. Shortage of fresh water is one of the main crises of the region while every farm uses gallons of fresh water on a regular basis. Photo: Mumit M

Subsequently, soft-shelled crab farming was introduced in the region with big investments.  Locals joined the process, turning their house ponds into crab farms. Higher returns also played a big role in the shift to crab farming which yielded twice the profit of tiger prawns.

According to crab traders, most of the catch is exported live to Japan, where they are considered a delicacy and fetch a premium price.

A backyard pond turned into a crab farm at Burigoalini village in Shyamnagar. To get an export quality harvest, farmers have to feed snails, cuchia and tilapia to the crabs which is another economical burden for them. Photo: Mumit M

The soft-shelled mud crabs, also known as mangrove crabs, are only found in the wild. These are not eaten locally and only cultivated solely for export purposes.

Fishermen set up traps to catch mud crabs in the Chuna River near the Sundarban at Munshiganj area in Shyamnagar upazila. Though there are strict guidelines not to extract natural resources from the mangrove forest, very little implementation takes place in reality. Photo: Mumit M

However, the lure of easy earning can impact the mangrove ecosystem, as a large number of mud crabs are extracted from the Sundarbans regularly to fulfill the growing demand of the soft-shelled crab farms.

The extent of the impact on the ecosystem can only be ascertained through detailed scientific research, in which the government should play a strong role and make an implementable policy on the recent farming practices and the related economy.

For feeding and monitoring the crabs, each box needs to be checked two times a day. Photo: Mumit M

Or else, the sound ecological management of the endangered Sundarbans seems to be a far cry, considering the present global market-driven food production practices.