IPOH, June 3 — Crab production in the country from capture fisheries and aquaculture was 16,074.14 tonnes for the whole of last year.
Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain said the total involved 15,740 tonnes in capture fisheries and 334.14 tonnes in aquaculture.
As for capture fisheries, crab landings comprised the nipah crab (mud crab), sea crab, reef crab and rock crab using equipment such as drift nets, trawl nets, span nets and bubu or crab traps.
“Crab production from aquaculture involves nipah crabs only in the form of soft-shell and hard-shelled. The nipah crabs, which are farmed, are from the ‘scylla olivacea’, ‘scylla paramamosain’, ‘scylla tranquebarica’ and ‘scylla serrata’ species.
“Nipah crab farming is carried out in brackish water using ponds, cages, tanks and enclosures,” he said in a statement today.
Adnan said the main producer of nipah crabs (aquaculture) last year was Johor, with 187.46 tonnes, followed by Sabah (122.60 tonnes); Perak (13.60 tonnes); Sarawak (4.76 tonnes); Kedah (3.89 tonnes); Selangor (0.64 tonnes) and Terengganu (1.19 tonnes).
He said the main species of freshwater aquaculture production are red tilapia, keli and patin.
He added that the production of red tilapia in the country contributed as much as 25,064.65 tonnes while 5,683.37 tonnes was produced from Perak throughout last year.
“There are a total of 1,045 freshwater aquaculture farmers in Perak and about 366 of them farm red tilapia,” he said.
