Life-Preserving Mangroves in Papua

Money-making Mud Crabs
The people of Ohotya village in Papua, rely on mud crabs for their livelihood. The village chief works with the local fisheries agency to ensure the sustainability of the crustacean delectable.

OHOTYA village in Mimika Regency, Papua, was lively in the afternoon. Children came out to play around their stilt houses as the adults finished their daily chores. Ansalma Matnarewa, one of the villagers, just returned from the mangrove forest not far from her village. She was carrying a medium-sized noken, a traditional woven bag.

Ansalma put the bag on the floor of her kitchen and checked her catch of the day. Unprepared, she accidentally let out a large mud crab (Scylla serrata), also known as karaka in the local language. Still covered in mud, the crab walked sideways across the room, its claws up in the air ready to attack.