Large king crabs are becoming increasingly scarce.

According to Lao Dong newspaper, recently in Ho Chi Minh City, many places and shops have appeared selling king crabs with smaller sizes and weights of 100-150 grams/crab at prices starting from 800,000 VND/kg, about half the price of larger king crabs.

Mr. Duong Van Hoan, owner of an imported seafood store on Pham Van Dong Street (Thu Duc City), said that consuming king crabs that are too small will affect the restocking of the population and the aquatic resources.

Currently, countries around the world such as Japan, the EU, and the UK all have regulations on the size of fish to be caught in order to control fishing levels, protect and maintain stocks for future years.

"Overfishing will significantly reduce the number of large crabs. In Vietnam, the king crabs at my shop are usually imported from Phu Quy Island (Binh Thuan). This year, this type of crab is also scarce, so the amount fishermen catch has decreased sharply," Hoan shared.

Small king crabs are sold in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Le

As a native of Binh Thuan province currently working in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Tran Phuong Ngan expressed: "King crab is a famous specialty of Phu Quy Island, but exploiting and selling small crabs will lead to their extinction. I always remind my family to choose king crabs of standard size for fishing, which will both provide a higher income and help protect this unique seafood species."

Regarding the issue of exploitation, a leader of the professional department of the Binh Thuan Fisheries Sub-Department said that, according to Decree 37/2024/ND-CP, for king crabs, the minimum carapace size allowed for exploitation is 10cm or more. The weight of king crabs meeting the standard allowed for catching is approximately 300 grams/crab.

However, due to high customer demand, some fishermen now catch even smaller crabs weighing 100-200 grams, including egg-bearing crabs, making crabs weighing from 0.5 grams to 1 kg increasingly rare.

According to the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , regulating the minimum size of aquatic species allowed for harvesting in natural waters is essential and appropriate in current practice. This is because marine resources in our country have declined in both quantity and quality over the past many years.

The main cause of the decline in fish stocks has been identified as overfishing, particularly the exploitation of juvenile and small-sized fish, which account for a high proportion of the catch.

To prevent this situation, authorities will handle and impose heavy penalties on acts of fishing that violate regulations on the protection of aquatic resources; the exploitation, trading, and transportation of endangered, rare, and precious aquatic species; smuggling and illegal transportation of aquatic products; and using fraudulent methods in the trading of aquatic products...

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/cua-huynh-de-kich-thuoc-lon-ngay-cang-khan-hiem-1365652.ldo