ABSTRACT
Scylla serrata is the common mud crab occurring in the estuarine and mangrove areas and is commonly called as “red crab” and it prefers to live in low saline waters. Crab fattening is widely practiced in Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Gravid female mud crabs with full orange-red egg masses are in great demand in seafood restaurants of South East Asian countries. Mud crabs of genus Scylla, also known as green crabs or mangrove crabs constitute an important secondary crop in the traditional prawn or fish culture systems in the Asian countries. In India the mud crabs have come into prominence since early eighties with the commencement of live crab export to the South East Asian countries which have created a renewed interest in the exploitation as well as in the production of mud crabs through aquaculture. Fattening of mud crab is undertaken in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal.
