VietNamNet Bridge – “Cua da” as called by local people, or Gecarcoidea lalandii, a specialty of Cu Lao Cham (Cham Isle) is in the danger of extinction because the dishes made of the crabs prove to be too attractive to travelers.

The world’s biosphere reserve, about 20 kilometers far away from Hoi An city to the east, has been famous for its wonderful landscapes, but also for the special foods, including cua da.

Most of the travelers to the isle order cua da for their parties. As a result, the more travelers come there, the more crabs are killed to serve human life luxuries.

The high demand has prompted local people to hunt for crabs for selling to the restaurants, which then process specialty foods to serve guests. The demand and the consumption are so high that scientists have warned that cua da is now in a big danger.

The gift from the God for the poor

Cu Lao Cham is the home for 600 households with 3,000 people, mostly earning their living by fishing. Tens of them, for many reasons, have become the professional crab catchers.

Pham Lin, a fisherman, affirmed that if someone still does not enjoy cua da, he cannot say he has understanding about the local food.

There on Cham Isle, the crabs labeled as “ecological” are priced at VND500,000 per kilo. No one is allowed to sell cua da lower than the floor price, while he has to pay the “crab management fee,” of 10 percent of the selling prices.

Lanh, a man who has the 15-year experience of catching crabs, said that the crabs are very strong and fast. An experienced man would be satisfactory if he can catch four out of the 10 crabs he finds.

“Two my younger brothers and I usually go catching crabs at 5 pm and come back home at 4-5 am,” Lanh said. “We have to climb up the mountains and go through dangerous forests. But sometimes we could not catch any crabs.”

“Though it is really a dangerous job, we still have to undertake it. Crabs are the gift from the God’s for the poor people,” he added.

Protecting cua da to protect people

The Hoi An City People’s Committee and local people understand that if the cua da resource is overexploited, the crabs would get extinct. If this happens, Cham Isle would be less attractive in the eyes of travelers, while local people would lose their livelihood. Especially, the ecological environment would be damaged.

In late 2009, Hoi An City authorities released the decision to stop the exploitation, trade and transport of cua da in Tan Hiep Commune of Cham Isle.

A $50,000 program on protecting cua da funded by UNEP has been implemented, which aims to preserve cua da and exploit them in the most effective way.

Most recently, a taskforce in charge of controlling the crab exploitation and protecting the crabs has been established. Local fishermen can only catch the crabs with large shells (7 cm or more). The cua da for sale must be kept in cages with the typical logo.

There in the land of cua da, the crabs with no “ecological” label are considered illegal.

Thanh Mai