Excerpt and Photo from citizen.digital
For years, when the sweltering coastal sun begins to fade, Pate Island-based Swaleh Abdalla, 30, a seasoned mud crab connoisseur, occasionally would wade through knee-high mud in the mangrove forests in search of hidden crab sanctuaries, adding to his day’s fish catch.
He used to spend endless hours on his boat, skimming the salty waters of the Indian Ocean, searching for his crustacean prey in the fish-rich areas of Pate, Manda, and Lamu islands, which make up the larger Lamu archipelago.
With the invaluable guidance of Wetlands International aquaculture specialists, Abdalla undertook a pioneering initiative in July last year: the cultivation of giant mud crabs.
With this endeavor, he hoped to outperform the meager returns from his old-fashioned crab hunts, which frequently produced only one catch per day. For the new venture, however, he was to buy crablets.
