Blue Swimmer Crab
Kiên Giang
Why Blue Swimming Crab?
The Vietnamese like crabs, and the blue swimming crab from Kiên Giang province, which is located in the Mekong Delta region includes Phú Quốc island in southern Việt Nam, is considered the best.
The meat of blue swimmer crabs, often known as sand crabs or flower crabs, is the sweetest of any variety. When alive, these odd-looking crustaceans are a deep, vivid blue, and when they’re cooked, they turn a brilliant, sparkling orange.
They have incredibly long, thin pincers for prying apart scallops and snipping the heads off prawns, as well as a distinctive pair of back legs that act like paddles, and can grow to a maximum weight of 1kg.
The blue swimmer crab has the most distinct flavor and texture. It’s sweet, clean, and rich, with a punchy iodine flavor that reflects their affinity for seagrass habitats, where they eat scallops, prawns, tiny fish, and mollusks.
Although you’ll see people lugging a bucket of water to the markets to buy live mud crabs, the blue swimmer is one of the few crab species that isn’t sold live, but rather raw or pre-cooked, because it rarely survives long out of the water. However, many seacoast places in Việt Nam sell live swimming crabs, which is an exception.
Ghẹ nướng (BBQ), ghẹ hấp bia (Steamed with beer), ghẹ rang muối (Sauteed with sea salt) and ghẹ rang me (Sauteed with tamarind) are some of the most well-known and popular Vietnamese blue swimming crab dishes.
When purchasing a blue swimmer, make certain that all of the legs are intact and firmly attached, and that the scent is fresh and sealike. Their flesh becomes mushy if they die slowly, due to their high-fat content and incredibly sensitive nervous system.
Background and Future Concerns
Overfishing and pollution of many kinds are threatening the blue swimmer crab in Việt Nam’s Kiên Giang region. The United States, Japan, and areas of Europe are all in high demand for this delicious crab. The Kiên Giang crab fishery is grappling with several significant concerns, including the harvest of undersized crab, a lack of understanding about the stock’s health, and the need for stronger enforcement of fishing laws.
In Việt Nam’s southern offshore area, Phú Quốc is the largest island. A terrestrial National Park and a Marine Protected Area (MPA) are both located on the island, which is rich in biodiversity. A coral reef zone and seagrass meadows, which are critical spawning and nursery habitats for blue swimming crabs and other aquatic species, are both included in the MPA.
This same island has grown in popularity among both domestic and international tourists. Hotel, restaurant, and other tourism service facilities, such as mushroom farms, have grown rapidly in the Phú Quốc tourism sector over the previous decade. Tourists numbered about nine times the island’s population in 2015, and the rate of growth is expected to continue.
This rapid development, along with a lack of waste treatment capacity, continues to pollute the land and sea, causing damage to coral reefs and seagrass beds, deteriorating public and private beaches, and harming local communities’ livelihoods. Plastic trash is one of the major contributors to pollution.
Solution
- In general, the government must develop long-term management strategies to protect the blue swimming crab from over-exploitation. In addition, to implement a harvest strategy, as well as harvest standards and instruments, and to monitor traceable, sustainably obtained seafood, particularly blue swimming crabs.
- Local fishermen, middlemen, and government officials must stop buying crab that is less than ten centimeters in length. To guarantee the long-term viability of maritime resources, all parties must share decision-making and monitoring duties.
- A concerted effort to clean up the island, as well as consistency in demonstrating their commitment to addressing the problem of plastic waste management, is required. Local government agencies and communities must take a long-term approach to the island’s plastic waste management problem, with a shared desire for a long-term solution that ensures a sustainable method and long-term impact on the island, ensuring a future for both humans and nature, and allowing Phú Quốc to truly become a true pearl island and dreamy destination for all.
