As blue swimming crab prices continue to plunge due to the United States’ import restrictions on Philippine crab products, the local government of E.B. Magalona is launching an “eat-all-you-can” crab night to generate additional income for fisherfolk, crab pickers, vendors and processors affected by the crisis.
Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said on Wednesday, July 29, that the initiative is part of the municipality’s response to the export ban, which has sharply reduced demand for blue swimming crabs.
Malacon said the buying price of blue swimming crabs has dropped to around P120 to P180 per kilogram from about P320 per kilogram before the US restrictions took effect.
“The objective is to provide another source of income because of the export ban,” the mayor said.
The local government is finalizing the guidelines for the program while surveying the projected number of visitors who are interested in availing of the unlimited crab offering.
Malacon said the initial public response has been encouraging, adding “People are excited about it. Hopefully, it will succeed.”
The unlimited crab nights will be held as part of the town’s revived Sabado Nights weekend activity, which the local government hopes will not only boost tourism but also create market demand for locally caught blue swimming crabs.
E.B. Magalona, considered one of Negros Occidental’s major blue swimming crab-producing municipalities, has been among the hardest hit by the US import restrictions, which took effect on June 11 after American authorities cited deficiencies in the Philippines’ marine mammal protection and bycatch monitoring documentation under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The restriction disrupted one of the country’s biggest seafood export industries and affected thousands of fisherfolk, crab pickers, traders and processing workers.
Last week, the municipal government also created the Municipal Crab Industry Task Force to coordinate measures that would cushion the impact of the export ban and help protect the livelihood of the town’s coastal communities.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have begun rolling out new fisheries regulations and inter-agency measures aimed at complying with US requirements and eventually restoring Philippine access to its largest export market.
The US accounts for about 90 percent of the country’s blue swimming crab exports, valued at around P6 billion to P7 billion annually.*
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