Biodiversity and conservation
“WE’RE NOT ALLOWED
TO FISH WHEN THE
CRABS MAKE LOVE”
We’re helping
to protect a Brazilian
cultural icon, optimise
fisheries management
and save livelihoods
T
he mangrove crab Ucides
cordatus is revered in Brazil.
These tasty crabs are highly
sought after on local markets and
are the main source of income for
thousands of fishermen. Small
villages celebrate the crabs at
harvesting festivals through beauty
contests where entrants sport
dresses made out of hundreds
of crab legs, while artefacts of its
shells several thousand years old
have been found.
The mangrove crab Ucides cordatus
“The crabs live in the mangroves and Brazil has about
10,000km 2 of these tidally flooded forests. They dig
two-metre-deep burrows. I work with fishermen over
there who stick their arms into the mud to get them out.
I’ve caught them myself this way.” The fishermen have to
protect their arms not because they are scared of the crabs
but because in the mud there are lots of sharp shells, and
they can easily injure themselves – they don’t have health
insurance, medicine is expensive and they simply can’t
afford to lose income.
Edinburgh Napier’s Dr Karen Diele
has been working to ensure the
sustainability of the fishery of these
crabs. “The guys who live from them
are often very poor and can’t afford
costly nets or fishing boats. To catch
these crabs, you don’t need a lot so
they are really important for poverty
alleviation in coastal Brazil.
Smoke helps deter insects as Karen works in the mangroves
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