Soft shell crab production which is among the promising income generating businesses in the region has offered series of job opportunities for local residents

Fisheries industry is one of the major livelihoods of locals in Labutta of Ayeyawady Region. 

Production soft-shell crab is among the promising income generating businesses in the region since it achieves a great market demand in local and export.

The industry also received support from international organizations, and the very first crab hatchery was also established in the area which creates job opportunities for local residents.

Worker, Zar Chi Aye said “We have to rake and look whether the crabs are molting or dead in the basket. If the crab becomes a soft shell one, we will see a shell and a body.  It will be 2 year that I’m working here in this April.”

The farm is run by the technical support of Texchem. It also receives the student interns to study about artificial hatching of mud crabs under the EU funded Myanmar Aquaculture Programme (MYSAP). At present, two students from Pathien University are working as interns at the farm.

Internship, Marine Science, Sharr Wai Linn said “I’m interested in aquaculture. In this way, we applied the MYSAP and so we made the master thesis. So now we are studying the master program from Pathein University. Specially, aquaculture is very important all over the world. Nobody can do, can make the mud crab culture. In this way, we are joining with the MYSAP Company to culture the mud crab.”

The official from MYSAP expressed that once the hatchery started its operation, it could bring more job opportunities for local residents.

Head of Programme, MYSAP, Peter Beuri said “We hope once the real hatching has started, also there will be more possibility for local workers to work for Texchem that also creating job series in the region and they can work under decent work conditions, male and female also. We are hoping that it will be the great success for the future also and that is also can be done in other region of Myanmar once we have some sufficient experience collected here with together with Texchem.

About 300 people are currently employing in the farm which is expected to produce around 100,000 crablets per month.

(The Myanmar International TV Channel: https://www.myanmaritv.com/news/job-opportunities-soft-shell-farm-offers-series-job-locals )

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