Common Name
Blue Swimming Crab
Scientific Name
Portunus pelagicus
The Kien Giang blue swimming crab (BSC) fishery catches BSC off the coast of Kien Giang Province using bottom gillnets and traps. The fishery supports the livelihoods of an estimated 20,000 fishers and their families. The blue swimming crab is also an important export product for Vietnam. Yet there are critical issues facing this fishery, including the harvest of undersized crab and gravid females, a lack of sound knowledge of the health of the stock, and lack of enforcement capacity. Through the active involvement of FIP stakeholders, such as the Department of Agriculture and Resource Development (DARD), Research Institute Fisheries Management and Provincial Peoples Committee, and FIP participants, the sustainability challenges facing this fishery are being addressed.
| 32% | 11% | 57% |
| 12% |
| Behind | On Track | Complete | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32% | 56% | 12% | 0% |
| Behind | On Track | Complete | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35% | 55% | 10% | 0% |
The FIP is working towards a fishery performance level that can achieve passing scores against the Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Standard by December 2028 by addressing a number of environmental challenges. These include: development and implementation of a sustainable harvest strategy that includes appropriate harvest controls, regular stock assessment, improved monitoring of the stock, minimizing catches of ETP species such as vulnerable shark species, implementation of a Kien Giang crab management plan, maintaining an operational Crab Council, responsive decision making, promulgation of effective fisheries laws, review of management performance, and improved compliance and enforcement.