Growth and survival rate of blue swimming crab enlargement in the south coast of Pamekasan, Madura Island

Abstract

Indonesia has fishery commodities favoured by the world market, especially blue swimming crab fisheries. Fishing activities that continue to increase have caused the blue swimming crab population in nature tend to decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to develop aquaculture in ponds and coastal waters. However, blue swimming crab enlargement has technological constraints that have yet to be widely known by the wider community. The study aimed to determine the survival rate of blue swimming crabs in coastal waters using ponds conducted in Pamekasan, East Java. The parameters measured were the width of the blue swimming crab’s carapace using a ruler and the growth of the blue swimming crab’s weight using a digital scale. The experimental results on blue swimming crabs obtained an absolute growth of 9.8 cm and a survival rate of 3.96%. The high rate of cannibalism in blue swimming crabs can indicate the cause of the low survival rate of blue swimming crabs. This research is expected to increase the choice of blue swimming crab enlargement to reduce the pressure of catches and be another alternative to reduce the level of blue swimming crab fishing in nature.