de la Cruz et al. / Phil J of Nat Sci 20-1 (2015): 25-45 1 Regional Environmental Information System Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College 6500 Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines ABSTRACT The blue swimming crabs (BSC) are one of the top livelihood sources in Eastern Visayas. This study aimed to assess the status of the blue swimming crab ishery and describe the market low of the blue crabs in the region. Crabbers, buying stations as well as cooking stations and crab meat- picking plants from various crabbing municipalities in Eastern Visayas were surveyed from April to August 2014. The survey considered the ishing gears used, the ishing grounds, the product market low and the problems encountered by the crabbers and seafood traders. Monitoring of the BSC catch was conducted from July to November 2014 in 12 ishing municipalities. A decline in BSC catch was noted but market demand for the product was consistently high. The estimated monthly production of BSC in the area showed an increasing trend from June to October. Generally, crabbers marketed their catch to middlemen, buying stations, cooking stations, meat--picking plants, local market, consumers or other establishments. However, the distribution and low of products varied from one area to another. Management measures to sustain the BSC ishery such as the Philippine Blue Swimming Crab Management Plan, local legislation on size regulation, ban on catching and selling berried crabs, and provision of cages for berried crabs were in place in some municipalities but not in all the areas covered in this study. Moreover, a lack of strict implementation of these measures was noted. INTRODUCTION 25 The Blue Swimming Crab ( Portunus pelagicus ) Fishery of Eastern Visayas, Philippines KEYWORDS blue swimming crabs, production, marketing ---------------------------------------------- *Corresponding Author: Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics UPV Tacloban College email: cruzmarge2003@yahoo.com telephone no. (053) 832- 1289 Margarita T. de la Cruz* 1 , John O. de la Cruz 1 , Irene L. Tan 1 , Elyrose Kim Ruizo 1 Blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus), also known as sand crabs, are found in nearshore marine and estuarine waters throughout the Indo- West Paciic region (Clarke and Ryan 2004; Xiao and Kumar 2004; Kamrani et al. 2010), Red Sea and Suez Canal (Mehanna 2005) and the Middle Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea (Mehanna and Haggag 2007; Mehanna and El-Aiatt 2011). In the Philippines, blue swimming crabs constitute an important part of the local isheries production (Germano 1994). About 50% of the blue swimming crab in wild stock in the country comes from Western Visayas particularly from the Visayan Sea and Guimaras Strait (Ingles 2004). Other ishing grounds also contribute to the aggregate annual production of blue swimming crabs. This includes the Asid Gulf, Bohol Sea, Samar Sea, Carigara Bay, Sorsogon Bay, northern part of Ragay Gulf, Tayabas Bay, Malampaya Sound, Panguil Bay, and the waters of Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao (Ingles 2004). Recorded BSC landings increased from 25, 000 MT in 1992 to 40, 000 MT in 2004 (Ingles 2004). However, production declined from 31, 509 MT in 2008 to 28, 170 MT in 2010 (BFAR 2012) which could be attributed to high commercial exploitation, ghost ishing and recruitment overishing (Ingles and Flores 2000). Blue swimming crab (BSC) ishery constitutes a major component of the municipal or small scale ishery in the Philippines (Batoy et al 1980; Ingles and Braum 1989). Some of the major BSC ishing grounds in Eastern Visayas include the Leyte Gulf, Matarinao Bay, Maqueda Bay, San Pedro Bay, and Ormoc Bay. In 2013, almost 2 158 MT of BSC wild stock were obtained from the diferent crabbing municipalities in the region with about 71% (1 540 MT) coming from the waters of Maqueda Bay to Villareal Bay (PSA 2014).