In Tago, crab is a delicacy, not a mentality!

As a child I always believed that crabs would never run out in Tago, my hometown in Surigao del Sur, even if they were peddled in the streets morning, noon and night.  Back then crabs were readily available that if a surprise visitor arrived minutes before lunch, my mother would tell our maid to boil water before leaving in haste.  Just as the water began to bubble, she would be back with crabs dangling in her hand in one hefty bunch.
 
Then about three years ago, supply began to dwindle for no apparent reason. Alarmed, Mayor Hermenegildo P. Pimentel Jr. investigated and learned that juvenile crabs--- matchbox-sized crabs that swim or walk on the muddy bay bottom ---are being transported on the sly to Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Capiz Province, where they’re sold as seedlings to fishpond operators. This explains why our crabs have become smaller, dearer and rare that we have to order them days in advance.

Realizing that Tago’s repute as Surigao del Sur’s crab capital was at stake, Mayor Pimentel met with crab gatherers and traders and pointed out to them that in effect they were selling crabs to extinction because if these crablets wouldn’t reach maturity, then who would mate to create the next generation of crabs in the freshwaters of Tago?  He also stressed that this practice, if not stopped, would threaten the balance of ecology and Tago’s legitimate crab industry, and would make losers in all of us. But these concepts proved complex to crab gatherers who sell crablets at P10  each to survive. “Three crablets already mean a kilo of rice for our family,” they said.