Participatory mud crab monitoring paves way to sustainable mangrove management

The livelihoods of many Indonesian coastal communities, like the Perigi Raja and Sapat communities of Indragiri Hilir Regency of Riau Province, depend on mud crab fisheries to meet their daily needs. The regency has extensive mangrove forests covering up to 129,000 hectares. This huge area is a prime habitat for catfish, shrimp, and mud crabs, which allows the community to both enjoy food and gain income from mud crab fishing.

The closure lasts for three months, allowing mud crabs to grow and spawn | Photo: Planet Indonesia

Mangroves are an important habitat that provides crucial nursery and feeding grounds for other aquatic animals and absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. They also protect the community from strong waves, land erosion, and sea-level rise. Because the mangrove mud crab has a high market value, the Perigi Raja and Sapat fishers are keen to exploit it. Scientifically known as the Scylla species, sales from across Indonesia combine to an export value of up to USD 154 million per year.

Andi Masrapi, a mud crab village buyer in Sapat Village who supports fishers under his supply chain, in turn contributing to the mangrove fishery management programme| Credits: Made Dharma/Blue Ventures

An Orange mud crab, Scylla olivacea caught by a fisher from Perigi Raja. | Credits: Joni Syahputra/Yayasan Mitra Insani

The mangrove habitats that support mud crab fisheries are crucial and under threat. Illegal and destructive fishing, including poison to catch shrimp and other fish, is common, especially in the Sungai Batang area. Illegal logging of mangroves is also a cause for community concern because logging has left parts of the coastline so bare that some fishers’ houses now risk being destroyed by waves.

To solve this problem, Pesisir Lestari (YPL) collaborated with Mitra Insani (YMI) to lead a mangrove management process that engages communities in forest management. The partnership provides training on mud crab species identification and data collection using KOBO – a mobile tool. The participatory process empowers communities to take active roles in management and gives them a strong sense of ownership.

Discussions on knowledge sharing with two trained data collectors and species identifiers who use the KOBO Toolbox in the participatory monitoring of mud crab fisheries in Perigi Raja |Credit: Made Dharma/Blue Ventures

A pento fishing trap or pot used by fishers in Sapat and Perigi Raja village to catch mud crabs. Credit: Made Dharma/Blue Ventures

Community members record the catch and biological parameters of mud crabs in Sapat Village to find data that can be used to determine the sustainability of fishing in the area and inform mangrove management in the region. Credit: Made Dharma/Blue Ventures

YMI staff teach data collectors in Sapat Village how to record mud crab-biological data, input the catch-data record into KOBO Toolbox, and identify the two mud crab species they found | Photo Credit: Faridz/Blue Ventures.

We are delighted to be involved in the implementation and participation of fisheries monitoring, as the users of mangrove crab resources. Through this activity, we can also increase our capacity and enthusiasm in overseeing the management of the mangrove crab fishery in the mangrove ecosystem in Sapat Village that is also under the Village Forest management,” said Mr. Andi Masrapi, a mudcrab collector and data collector.

The community’s reliance on mud crab fisheries, the high-income potential of this fishery, and their engagement so far make us hopeful that the community will see both economic and environmental benefits of management, catalysing the long-term sustainable management of these hugely important areas. We believe that community engagement and the participatory process are assets in engaging communities, helping them achieve sustainability soon and look forward to continuing to support YMI and the fishers alike to continue on this journey.

By Indah Rufiati (Fisheries Lead) and Faridz Fachri (Fisheries Improvement Technician) – Indonesia.