Micro-enterprise/life skills
No Longer 'Crabby'
- Hin Lart Village Crab Bank
- Female crab
- OB funded new Crab Bank
- Muslim family
CBN.com – The December 2004 tsunami greatly reduced the crab population in southern Thailand, devastating the livelihood of some Muslim families in the Hin Lart Village.
To further complicate matters, many new fishermen entered the industry and were given new boats, nets, and equipment by various organizations. Fierce competition sprung up, making it more difficult for the poor to support their families.
Twenty Muslim families from Hin Lart Village realized something must be done, so they created a plan to improve the situation for all 200 crab fishing families in their community with the construction of a Crab Bank. (See editor’s note below)
After visiting a successful model of a Crab Bank in southern Thailand, the villagers were eager to begin but lacked funding for their project. They approached Operation Blessing for support, who investigated the concept as well. OB agreed to provide 160,867 Baht (about $5,000) as start-up money.
Crab Population Increases
Now when many of the fishermen in Hin Lart Village use their new OB boats to net their catch, they take the female crabs to the Crab Bank.
From October 2007 to February 2008, more than 1,000 crabs were placed in the Crab Bank. In March and April, the peak spawning season, this facility will be used to full capacity.
The local community has already noticed an increase in the number of baby crabs along the coast. Some of the parents from Hin Lart Village said their children enjoy catching and releasing the little crabs that have suddenly appeared along the shoreline since the the Crab Bank was started.
Mr. Moosaa Naaroon buys crabs from the fishermen of Hin Lart Village and sells them to the market. He helped initiate the idea of a Crab Bank for the community and told the fishermen, “I won’t buy any more crabs from you if they have eggs. You must first take them to Operation Blessing’s Crab Bank.”
“Thank you Operation Blessing for helping to set up this project,” Naaroon said. “The Crab Bank will greatly benefit our whole community. It is helping to increase the crab population in our area, creating a brighter future for our families and better business for everyone.”
Editor’s Note: A Crab Bank is a group of holding nets floating on top of the ocean. When female crabs carrying eggs are caught, they are separated from the rest of the catch and deposited to the Crab Bank until the baby crabs are born. Once the baby crabs are born, they swim through the netting and return back to the sea. The crab fishermen then return to collect the adult crabs they deposited. An adult female crab can carry over one million eggs!
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