Boom and bust: Soft‐shell mud crab farming in south‐east coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Soft-shell mud crab (Scylla olivacea) farming was introduced to the coastal floodplains of Cox's Bazar, a south-east region of Bangladesh, in 2011. These farming practices then spread among many farmers within the region, and gradually increased in the southwest coastal floodplains of the Satkhira district. While farming in the Satkhira region has experienced relatively smooth growth, the mud crab farms in Cox's Bazar have gone through big ups and downs. Indeed, the number of these farms in the south-east was found to have gradually decreased by 80% in 4 years (2014–2017). This study looks at historical perspectives and thoroughly reviews the state of soft-shell mud crab farming practices. In addition to key stakeholder interviews, data were collected from all the existing and collapsed farms of this type in the Cox's Bazar region. It is revealed that social coherence was the main factor that enabled the ‘boom’ periods due to farmers sharing methods and technologies among their communities. In contrast, poor linkage to global value chains, lack of product diversification, shortage of seed supply due to an inadequate supply of trash fish for feeding, prolonged banning of sea fishing, the poor bargaining capacity of the stakeholders and small-scale farmers lacking direct access to export markets were the key factors for the ‘bust’ periods, even when global demand was increasing daily. A balance between local and global markets, value-added diversified product development and adoption of advanced technologies in the crab farming industry are recommended for the revival and sustenance of this emerging sector.