CONSERVATION NEWS Land crabs, a natural resource
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from July 1976.
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It has been reported to the Conservation Association that some persons are capturing the female crabs in hugh numbers at the time they gather along the shore to deposit the eggs. The majority of Cayman residents are aware that this event in the land crabs lifecycle should be allowed to take place to its completion, if these creatures are to remain abundant.
Capturing females before they finish releasing their hugh store of eggs, a process lasting up to 3 months, could reduce population accordingly, and the land crab would become a rarity, like the turtle, the lobster and the conch.
The land crab comes in a variety of colours, ranging from dark blue to grey and even white. Although this species has learned to live on land, it still depends on water for its respiration and breeding, inhabiting mangrove swamps, muddy shores and saline soils near the coast.
Mating season occurs in May after the molt, the spawing season continuing until Fall. Incubation lasts from 15 to 20 days, and when eggs are almost mature, the female travels shoreward where she releases the larvae.
A single "sponge," or cluster of eggs, may contain up to 700,000 eggs; however, most do not develop. Land crabs feed on fallen leaves, weeds and other vegetable matter. They in turn are food for man, and for herons and other swamps-dwelling birds. In islands such as Pureto Rico, a commercial fishery has developed around these crabs
Wise use of any resource dictates that the animal in question be allowed to reproduce freely so that the supply of individuals maintains a resonable level. It is hoped that local persons will cast an eye toward the future and thus allow the land crabs to produce their young without interruption, so that this natural resource is not wasted.
