A Must-Read for Crab Lovers: What You Should Know Before Digging into "Wanli Crabs"

▲ A few things you should know before digging into "Wanli Crab." (Photo / Provided by Farmer's Media)

Text & Photography / Hong Chia-mei

What kind of crab do you like to eat? Whether it’s hairy crab, king crab, or Wanli Crab, 80% of the crabs caught along Taiwan’s coast are landed in Wanli. But most people aren’t necessarily familiar with the types of crabs caught in Taiwan’s coastal waters or their fishing grounds. That’s why in 2012, the New Taipei City Government designated the most commonly caught species in the Wanli area — the swimming crab, flower crab, and three-spot crab — as "Wanli Crab," launching the Wanli Crab brand to encourage consumers to choose seafood caught in Taiwan.

Taiwan is an island nation, so seeing seafood on the dining table isn’t unusual. But while enjoying seafood, we also need to understand how it’s caught, how it’s produced, its resource levels, and related research progress. Before devouring Wanli Crab, it’s important to know how these crabs end up on your plate — and what ecological issues they’re facing.

Eco-friendly fishing is the top priority

Many consumers might think, aren’t crabs always caught using crab traps?

There are many ways to catch crabs, such as trawling or seine netting, which can scoop up all crabs in their path — including those carrying eggs or that are too small — pulling them all ashore. Crab traps are relatively more environmentally friendly. When Wanli fishermen use traps, they release crabs that don’t meet regulations back into the sea.

Wang Chao-hua, Director of the Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Division of the New Taipei City Government, pointed out that fishermen use pieces of mackerel to lure crabs into the traps, rather than forcibly catching them. All Wanli fishermen in New Taipei City use crab traps.

▲ Crab fishermen in the Wanli area catch crabs using traps. (Photo / Provided by Farmer's Media)

Continuously monitoring the number of crabs in the sea

Will crabs ever be fished out? The Wanli Crab campaign has now entered its sixth year, with large numbers of people flocking to the northern coast every year to enjoy Wanli Crab. But whether the resource levels can sustain this level of consumption is a question many may have.

Each year, Wanli fishermen catch about 400 metric tons of crabs. Wang Chao-hua stated that there is long-term cooperation with central government agencies and academic institutions to conduct surveys on crab resource levels. Every year, they continue to monitor the amount of crabs in the sea and implement relevant control measures. Currently, Wanli Crab resource levels remain stable.

Current control measures start on the boats themselves. Crabs caught in traps and brought ashore must have a carapace width greater than 6 cm (for swimming crabs) or 8 cm (for three-spot crabs and flower crabs). Additionally, from August 16 to November 15 each year, female crabs carrying eggs (also called "flowering female crabs") cannot be caught. The New Taipei City Government conducts weekly spot checks to ensure fishermen are following these regulations.

▲ Crabs that are too small cannot be caught. (Photo / Provided by Farmer's Media)

The inability to regulate fishermen from other countries is a problem

Over the past four or five years, Tzeng Tsung-te, Dean of the College of General Education at Shu-Te University, has continuously monitored Wanli Crab resource levels. He said that Wanli Crab has not yet experienced overfishing. In recent years, after implementing control measures, Wanli Crab resource levels have shown stability, with even a slight upward trend.

However, Tzeng Tsung-te pointed out that the fishing of Wanli Crab is approaching the maximum sustainable yield, and this is not solely due to the Wanli Crab campaign in New Taipei City. In fact, in the northwest fishing grounds where Wanli Crab is found, Chinese fishermen are using trawl nets to catch crabs.

The crab trap method used by Wanli fishermen does not directly impact the environment, but other fishermen’s trawl methods can harm resource levels. Although regulations in recent years have helped stabilize Wanli Crab resource levels, these laws can only govern domestic fishermen and cannot regulate the fishing methods of foreign fishermen.

When asked if current crab fishing control regulations need improvement, Tzeng Tsung-te noted that female crabs carrying eggs exist all year round, but currently, only the period from August 16 to November 15 is regulated to prohibit catching flowering female crabs. He suggested that the government also include the peak spawning period from February to April as a no-catch period for flowering females, which would also help the recovery of Wanli Crab resources. Tzeng Tsung-te said, “I hope there will be an opportunity to discuss the regulation of female crabs in the northwest fishing grounds with China.”

▲ Mature eggs of breeding crabs appear blackish-gray and are released into the water after 1–3 days of incubation. (Photo / Provided by Farmer's Media)

Releasing and farming flower crabs will become a reality

Two years ago, the New Taipei City Government partnered with the Aquatic Organism Research and Conservation Center at National Taiwan Ocean University to launch a flower crab farming project. Last year, a small-scale trial was completed, confirming the life cycle of flower crabs and identifying their various developmental stages.

Hsu Hua-teh, Assistant Research Fellow at the Ocean Center of National Taiwan Ocean University, stated that this year, large-scale outdoor pond farming trials are underway. However, since flower crabs take 24 to 25 days to fully metamorphose, early-stage farming is relatively difficult. They hope to overcome survival issues, and next year, preparatory trials for releasing crabs are planned, including determining the size of crabs for release, simulating transport conditions, and evaluating suitable locations.

Asked if flower crabs could become an emerging farmed species in the future, Hsu Hua-teh said that during the flower crab farming trials, he visited the Penghu Marine Biology Research Center and aquaculture seedling farms to learn about crab farming experiences and processes. During experiments, it was found that flower crabs are relatively heat-tolerant. If a complete breeding and farming process can be established, there is potential for them to become a farmed species.

Crab conservation starts with your purchase

In 2014, the Fisheries Agency established the "Coastal and Offshore Fishing Boat Crab Catch Control Measures," which includes regulations on the carapace width of caught crabs. However, crabs smaller than the regulated size can still be found on the market, and even during the August 16 to November 15 period, female crabs carrying eggs are sometimes sold. Therefore, when buying crabs, consumers should avoid purchasing those that are too small or are carrying eggs, giving them room to grow.

If you want to buy Wanli Crab, you can visit the "2017 Wanli Holiday Live Crab Market" at Yehliu Harbor on Saturdays and Sundays from September 23 to November 26 to purchase locally sourced Wanli Crab. If you’re worried about cooking crabs, you can also look for restaurants displaying the "Wanli Crab" flag to enjoy a chef-prepared crab feast.

▲ After purchasing Wanli Crab, you can ask a nearby restaurant to help cook it. (Photo / Provided by Farmer's Media)

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Article source: Autumn winds blow, crab legs itch — here’s what you should know before digging into Wanli Crab