Domestication and selective breeding for producing fast growing and high meat quality of blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus)

Aquaculture has not yet made a significant contribution in meeting the market demand. This research aims to produce a superior Portunus pelagicus brood stock candidate through domestication with selective breeding for faster growth. The study was conducted over two years (2013-2014) at educational fish ponds of Hasanuddin University, located in Barru Regency, Province of South Sulawesi Indonesia. There are several steps of domestication: selecting wild crab stock (G0) generation, improving method for spawning, hatching, and larval rearing in hatchery, growing-out in brackish water pond for 90 days to select fast growing and high meat quality of brood stock (G1), repeating all steps until third generation of domesticated stock (G3) produced. The result showed that there was significantly increasing in carapace width from G1 to G3-stock (p < 0.01). The G3 carapace width growth reached 1.17 and 1.12 mm day-1, while the G1 was 1.02 and 1.03 mm day-1 for female and male crab, respectively. There was no significant difference in protein, fat, and nitrogen-free between G0 and G3- crab. This domestication procedure producing high growth rate and good quality of crab meat can be applied in crab aquaculture.