Tamil Nadu   

Crab fattening makes their lives better

— Photo N. Rajesh

ASSURED INCOME: A member of men self-helf group working at a crab farm at Punnakayal in Tuticorin district.

TUTICORIN: Training provided by the Fisheries College and Research Institute here in crab fattening has transformed the lives of members of two self-help groups operating at Pazhayakayal.

The Kadalvani male self-help group and the Arivoli Matha women self-help group, which had a moderate start a month ago with 24 members, now net a sizeable profit by fattening tiny crabs to the export specifications on their 1.7-acre farm near the confluence of the Kovankadu jungle stream and the Gulf of Mannar.

“We have started the operations with a meagre capital of Rs. 50,000, which we used to buy tiny crabs and a motor to pump water from the estuary to the farm and to fence the farm,” P. Alaguvel, president, Kadalvani SHG, told The Hindu.

For the members, who were engaged in fishing individually then, the formation of the groups came in handy to find lucrative markets. The crabs they fatten are going to niche foreign markets through middlemen. The crabs are fed with juvenile pony fish, shrimps and anchovies. The pond is sterilised with lime applied on the bottom. The proximity of the farm to the confluence of freshwater and saline water, Mr Alaguvel reasoned, was an added advantage, as such a condition is conducive for faster growth of crabs.

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