—A study was conducted in Mtwapa creek on the north coast Kenya, during 2005-2007 to evaluate the viability of pens and drive-in cages for mud crab (S. serrata) culture as a mangrove management strategy and alternative source of income for local communities. Other objectives were to assess the effectiveness of drive-in cage construction materials (fito andbamboo) in improving mud crab culture and influences return on investment. The applicability of morphomentric equations in estimating growth was also tested. Four replicate pens (6 m x 2 m) were stocked with 2 crabs/m2 while individual drive-in cages (30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm) werejoined to form ten in one group (1 replicate) and a total of four replicates used. Uniform feeding was applied for all crabs in pens and drive-in cages using a mixture of fish offal and gastropod meat once a day at 10% body weight. Specific growth rate and survival of mud crabs were evaluated together with the cost of investment for the three months culture period. Drive-in cages recorded a significantly better survival and growth rate (53.2 ± 12.78%; 1.25 ± 0.42 g/day) compared to pens (31.25 ± 2.95%; 0.68 ± 0.24 g/day) p < 0.05 while no significant difference was observed between drive-in cages made of different materials (fito and bamboo). A link between growth rate and size of crab was observed, where growth rate decreased with increasing weight. Moulting associated factors contributed highly (45%) to the total mud crab mortality recorded (p < 0.05); mortalityalso had a strong positive relationship with moulting (R2 = 0.79, p > 0.05). Strong relationships existed in morphomentric equations between carapace length and weight (W = 0.0006L2.9941; R2 = 0.86, p > 0.05). The construction costs for pens were three times more than those for a similar number of drive-in cages. Cost-return analysis on a per year basis/50 crabs showed that the use of either bamboo or fito as cage construction material was economically viable with a return on capital investment of 122.3 -181.7%. Therefore the integration of mud crab culture in mangrove forest is feasible in Kenya.Keywords: Mud crab, Pens, Cages, Bamboo, Fito, Cost-Return, Conservation