The crab population of southern Thailand was significantly reduced by a tsunami in December 2004. Many new fishermen entered the industry after they were given new boats, nets and equipment by various organizations eager to help them rebuild their lives. For those whose livelihoods relied on the crabbing industry, this meant more competition, fewer crabs and ultimately less money to support their poor families. 

Twenty Muslim families from Hin Lart Village realized their livelihoods could be at stake unless something was done. They came up with a plan to help improve the situation for all of the 200 crab fishing families in their community – the construction of a Crab Bank.

A Crab Bank is a group of holding nets floating on top of the ocean. When female crabs carrying eggs are caught, they are separated from the rest of the catch and deposited to the Crab Bank until the baby crabs are born. Once the baby crabs are born, they swim through the netting and return back to the sea. The crab fishermen then return to collect the adult crabs they deposited. An adult female crab can carry over one million eggs.

After visiting a successful model of a Crab Bank in Southern Thailand, the villagers of Hin Lart were eager to get started but lacked the finances. They approached Operation Blessing who investigated the existing Crab Bank and then provided 160,867Baht (about $5000USD) to fund the construction of the project.

Many of the fishermen in the village had already received new boats from OB after their old boats were destroyed in the tsunami. They use these new boats to net their catch and to take the female crabs to the Crab Bank.

From October 2007 to February 2008, over one thousand crabs were placed in the Crab Bank. This facility will be used to full capacity during the peak spawning season of March and April. The local community has already noticed an increase in the number of baby crabs along the coast. Some of the parents from Hin Lart Village commented that their children enjoy catching and releasing the little crabs that have suddenly appeared along the shoreline since OB’s Crab Bank has been in use.

Mr. Moosaa Naaroon buys crabs from the fishermen of Hin Lart Village and sells them to the market. He helped initiate the idea of a Crab Bank for the community and told the fishermen, “I won’t buy any more crabs from you if they have eggs. You must first take them to Operation Blessing’s Crab Bank.”

Moosaa went on to say, “Thank you Operation Blessing for helping to set up this project. The Crab Bank will greatly benefit our whole community. It is helping to increase the crab population in our area, creating a brighter future for our families and better business for everyone.”