Losses experienced by some crab farmers in the Philippines were traced to the very low survival of crablets that were misidentified as the popular king crab. Farmers prefer to culture king crab because it grows bigger and faster compared to other species. Unfortunately, the crablets later proved to be a different kind. In one instance, a group of pond operators in Pontevedra, Capiz imported crablets, reportedly from Viet Nam, that were wrongly advertised as a cross breed between king crab (scientific name Scylla serrata) and another crab locally known as pulahan (Scylla olivacea). “It was reported that the crablets caused huge losses for the farmers because of their very low survival. A few survived but they produced low quality market-sized crabs that ended up being sold for a very cheap price,” said Joana Joy Huervana, commodity leader for crabs at the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD).

De La Cruz, J. M. (2020, May 20). Expert warns crab farmers against ‘fake’ king crablets. Daily Guardian, pp. 6, 8.