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Giant Crab Caught and Kept Alive on Phuket
By National News Bureau of Thailand report Tuesday, October 14, 2014
PHUKET: Locals in the famous island of Phuket have discovered a giant mud crab weighing nearly three kilograms.
Kasit Padungkan, a 29 year-old local in Phuket, held the crab in front of the media's camera before sending it to the provincial office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources where it would be kept for display and for researchers to study.
Investigations confirm that it was a male crab weighing 2.8 kilograms and measured at least 2 feet from its left to right claw.
The crab's scientific name is Scylla serrata and is commonly known among the locals as ''Poo Thonglang.''
According to Mr. Kasit, he had bought the crab from an associate of his at a price of 700 baht.
However, he decided to offer the crab to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources instead since it was a rather rare catch.
The last time a crab like this had been appeared in Phuket was back during 30-40 years ago.
The crab population has reduced significantly due to the destruction of mangrove forests and the spread of shrimp farming within the area.
Realising this problem, the locals along with the subdistrict administration organisation (SAO) and other government agencies have worked together to replant several mangroves and now the crab population is starting to recover considerably.
NNT
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Comments
Comments have been disabled for this article.
To me would it not be better to put the crab back in the sea as a mature "Alpha" male he would breed and make more crabs which are more likely to be strong like him. Is this not just what the local govt wants. So taking him out the breeding chain goes against this logic. Sad story put him back in the sea.
Posted by
Feisty Farang
on
October 14, 2014 14:01
Would of been nice to see some photos. Next time please.
Posted by
Donald Jackson
on
October 14, 2014 16:23
Editor Comment:
Let's hope there is a next time for big crabs.
I would wish him too a happy breeding in Phuket.
It is nowadays almost impossible to find in Phuket a good black/green crab ,say, at least 0.8-1kg with an idea to get it stir fried with yellow curry powder.
Blue crab - Poo Ma - Portunus pelagicus, of course, is no alternative to Scylla serrata/Scylla olivacea for that.
Never heard before that S.seratta is called Poo Thonglang, mostly Poo Keaw, Poo Talay, Poo Dam.
Posted by
Sue
on
October 14, 2014 16:57
Don't be too obsessed with Poo Sue, sh-t happens, so we can't get too crabby about it..
Posted by
farang888
on
October 14, 2014 21:36
It's all about attitude - when Dam Poo comes our way, so stay strong..
Posted by
farang888
on
October 14, 2014 21:55
farang888, you do know Sue is Phuket's expert on where you are most likely to get all sorts of crabs.
I've always thought best to avoid them, otherwise you just share them around. With claws that large, I would be concerned what may get chopped off.
Posted by
Manowar
on
October 14, 2014 22:50
@farang888
D'you mean Poo-s are high on cholesterol, and over-consumption of it consequently lead to atherosclerosis, hypertension, oxygen deficit in a brain, resulting in a crabby mood?
Yes, crabs are really high on that stuff.
Surely such crabs are a treat and you don't eat it everyday for lunch and dinner.
Unfortunately it is extremely rare to get a good Black/Green Mud crab in Phuket, either they're "empty" or of ridiculous weight like 350-500gr.
I recall other high on cholesterol crabs - Coconut Crabs (Birgus Latro) that are entirely land crabs, and normally are rather big 2-3kg, and at times up to 70-80 cm span, and they are as tasty as Black/Green Mud crabs.
I had ones on Vanuatu, where people on laid-backiness and Sabai and Sanuk scale are rated just next to Thai ones, so, although I'm not biologist and can't be sure that it will work, I think it would be good to introduce Coconut Crabs to Phuket :
Coconut Crabs can climb coconut trees , and get coconut down from there ,
and even more they are able to open coconuts,
so may be they can be trained in addition to monkeys to bring coconuts down?
Then, Coconuts Crabs are allegedly aphrodisiacs - let's imagine Coconuts Crabs with 80 cm span strolling back and forth in numbers along Patong beach in the evening , and among them some are destined for a dinner that night for customers interested in that feature?
Giving that Coconut Crabs long-time co-habitation with Vanuatians, who to my experience are most-Thai-psyche among non-Thais, I suppose that Coconut Crabs should breed well in Phuket, giving an access to coconut trees is provided.
Posted by
Sue
on
October 15, 2014 07:05
Sue does seem to glean a lot of information about crabs, probably the only person on the planet able to teach crabs to walk straight!
Posted by
Pete
on
October 15, 2014 09:52
Amazing! Go to Phromthep Cape and watch the birds. There are no birds or any seagulls ! It is dead empty, completely 'fish free'. The Cape is very silent!
Posted by
Kurt
on
October 15, 2014 13:44
@Pete
There is no data on whether Coconuts Crabs can be trained to bring coconuts down on human command, however let's face the known facts:
i. Coconuts Crabs are able to climb coconut trees
ii. Coconuts Crabs are known to bring down coconuts from coconuts trees
iii. Coconut Crabs in group can open coconuts.
Since Coconuts Crabs have CNS then the subject to be researched is what stimulus would make Coconut Crabs to perform (i) and (ii), to be able to train them on respondent conditioning basis, say, in similar manner like dogs.
It well may be that they can specifically react on some part of visible light spectrum, e.g. to red light - then it would be very easy with a laser pointer to point to a coconut palm and Coconut Crab would climb it and send coconuts to the ground.
And it doesn't matter whether route to the coconut will be X-shaped or staright.
Coconut Crabs have no natural predators, the only one is human, so they can breed in numbers very fast then. And they don't compete for an areal with, say, Mud Crabs, as Coconut Crabs are hydrophobic and are completely land-living creatures.
Posted by
Sue
on
October 18, 2014 01:25
Sue, you need to do something about these crabs before they start breeding and spreading.
Posted by
Manowar
on
October 18, 2014 09:48
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To me would it not be better to put the crab back in the sea as a mature "Alpha" male he would breed and make more crabs which are more likely to be strong like him. Is this not just what the local govt wants. So taking him out the breeding chain goes against this logic. Sad story put him back in the sea.
Posted by Feisty Farang on October 14, 2014 14:01