Blue crabs (Source: tinmoitruong)Kien Giang (VNA) - More than 2,000 young and productive crabs were released on November 5 into the sea in Ham Ninh commune, in the island district of Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.
The ceremony was part of the Blue Swimming Green Crab Day, organised by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the World Wild Fund for Nature in Vietnam (WWF Vietnam) with the participation from local authorities, and crowds of enterprises and fishermen.
The move aims to help recover blue crab resources, and send a message to the community and fishermen, calling on them to protect marine resources and use them sustainably.
The event included a number of other activities to raise local residents’ awareness about crabs. A number of agreements were signed between enterprises and fishermen on protecting young and breeding crabs.
Addressing the ceremony, Department Deputy Director Le Trung Kien said crab fishing had created jobs for some 20,000 labourers in Kien Giang.
He mentioned the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), which was started in the province in 2011 by WWF Vietnam, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export, and the department.
The project has helped improve the management and protection of local blue crab resources in particular and fishery resources in general, Kien added.
According to a representative from the project, each crab can produce between 180,000 and 2 million eggs. The crabs released into the sea will contribute significantly to the recovery.
The event is expected to develop an annual practice to protect the resources for future generations and the livelihoods of the 20,000 fishermen.-VNA
