ABSTRACT

Portunid crabs have rather diversified feeding habits, including algae, vascular plants, foraminiferous species, cnidarians, molluscs, polychaetes, other crustaceans, fish and other groups. Though majority of portunids are edible, a small number of species have been reported to be commercially important with major or minor fisheries. Widespread across Indo-Pacific including Southeast Asia, portunid crabs are among the valuable commodities across many countries, fetching higher market price compared to other locally consumed marine fish species. One temperate species, Portunus trituberculatus is also considered as a suitable species for aquaculture especially in Japan. Man consumes many species of crabs of the families—Lithodidae, Macidae, Caneridae, Portunidae, Xanthidae, Potamidae, Geryonidae, Gecarcinidae, and Ocypodidae. Among these crabs, portunid crabs or swimming crabs assume greater significance in the marine industry owing to their delicate meat with nutritional qualities. As a conservation measure, the only possibility is to educate fishermen to release the juvenile, berried and soft crabs to the sea while they are alive.