All you need to know about Mud Crabs

Scylla serrata popularly referred to as Mud Crabs are famous in the domestic as well as export markets. They belong to the Portunidae family of crabs. Mud crabs grow rapidly and are rich with flesh content. These aspects have exponentially increased the demand for mud crabs.

Scylla serratas are edible species of crabs. Mud crabs are known for its rich meat quality and size. India’s diverse culture refers to Mud crabs as Khekra in Hindi, Kurli in Konkani, Njhandu in Malayalam, Peethalu in Telugu, Kankada in Oriya among others.

Mud carbs grow up to 24 cm in carapace length and weighs 2–2.5kgs. At a size of about 9 cm, female mud crabs attain sexual maturity. Mud crabs are highly tolerant towards nitrates and ammonia. There are two types of commercial crabs available in the market, Green mud crabs and red claw crabs. Mud crabs have a smooth and broad carapace. Their claws are used for cutting and crushing their prey and their hind legs are used for swimming. Mud crabs tend to be drak brown in colour or mottled green in colour. Younger crabs feed on planktonic animals, molluscs and crustaceans. The older crabs consume polychaete worms, gastropod molluscs and other smaller crabs. Mud crabs are caught using crab traps or pots used as baits with meat or fish.

Placing mud crabs in a freezer for up to 2 hours kills them, after which they can be cooked. Mud crabs are cooked with their shells on. Once their shells are molted, they are served as soft-shell crabs.

The increasing interest in Mud crab farming is due to the high prices of these crabs. But their aquaculture is often limited due to unpredictable nature of the survival of the larvae. This could be attributed to malnutrition, disease or a cannibalistic behaviour during one of their stages of development, megalopa.

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