Stop eating female crabs, fisheries head appeals

Today’s weird public appeal comes from the head of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, who’s calling on fisherfolk and diners not to catch female crabs or cook them for dinner. Speaking at kickoff ceremony of the Golden Year of Fish Conservation Week, BFAR director Asis Perez said the yield of mud crabs has been tracking a decline since the fourth quarter of 2012. Diners usually prefer the female crab because it has more fat than the male. But Perez says preying on the female crab contributes to the downward trend in the catch. One adult female crab, the official explained, can produce three million crablets, which in turn could reproduce more. Crab gender can easily be identified through their flaps in their underbellies. Pointed flaps are males while wider ones are females.

Photo: Wikimedia

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