Catching Coconut Crabs

How to catch a coconut crab

Ingredients:

Wan bushknife
Coconus
Torch
Coconus Crab habitat


1. Find some coconut crab habitat:
· lots of places to hide such as uplifted coral reefs
· forest areas
· no further than approx 600 metres from solwata

2. Get around 10 coconuts at the nearest coconut plantation (there’s sure to be wan closeup). Cut coconuts in half. Peal back two thin strips from the husk and tie together.

3. Lay baits during the mid afternoon (approx 3pm). Lay baits near holes in rocks, but far enough away so they don’t run back and hide when you come back.

4. Spel smol. Fill up time sleeping, storianing, playing volleyball, swimming or with kava.

5. After dark, go back along the road you made, check baits. Hold tight any krab kokonus. Weigh, measure TL, CTL, is it male/female, does it have eggs, old or new shell?

6. Enjoy! Not to kakae though : )



Well, the New Year has finally brought some work! I’ve changed jobs and am now working for the Sanma Provincial Council as an Environmental Advisor for their Environment Unit. It’s started with a hiss and a roar, literally, having made a site inspection of a very noisy diesel generator power station which is to be moved to a new site. At the moment it’s directly next-door to a school, church, residential and semi-commercial area, with very little sound proofing.

Later that week saw my chance to get up close and personal with Krab Kokonus, aka Birgus Latro, Crabe du Coco or Coconut Crab. The Coconut Crab Task Force has been in full swing, and with four final sites to be completed, I managed to get a spot in the team.

In Vanuatu, nothing (except for Van Air domestic flights in the back of beyond) runs to schedule. You learn to spel smol (smol being used rather liberally of course). So, while the team was asked to come in to the office for 7.30am, it wasn’t until 1pm that we actually hit the road. At least it allowed a bit of sleep in the Council pergola.

After a half hour trip North of Luganville, we jumped in a tinnie (dingy) and headed to the island of Mavea. After a spel smol, the crew and some local boys headed to the site: an uplifted coral cliff called Patuman (means head blong man), located half an hours walk through a coconut plantation. Baits were laid, copra drying sheds were investigated and then it was back to the village for a smol slep, volleyball and storian (ie another spel smol). As night descended, we gathered our equipment, torches and work boots, and headed to the site. 3 Males and 3 Females were caught, wan with eggs, and plenty of baits where ‘krab I kakae bet finis be yu no lukim krab’. Back in the village, it was time for a swim (bucket shower), kakae, the middle portion of Titanic and then sleep.

An early morning boat ride to Santo was followed by a truck ride to Luganville and another spel smol at the office, while we waited for another truck and contact for the next island of Tutuba. As the rain clouds started to gather, we eventually found another truck and headed to Million Dollar Point to wait for another boat to take us across the Channel.

Once at the village, we storianed with the local chief and elders, and then headed for an hours walk across the island to our site on the north-east coast. As the rain started pouring down we clambered over limestone and relict reef. This was a great spot, beautiful limestone features, Pandanus trees and coral sand beach. Lots of great habitat, just a pity about the rain. So it was decided to spel smol at the site, so we waited under a rock outcrop, with plenty of kakae (coconus, sugarcane, papaya plus the standard fiji breakfast cracker).

Tutuba had fulup krab kokonus… 6 males and 6 females, 3 with eggs. After making our way back slowly to the village, we had a swim, kakae and slept in a nakamal, only having to move to another spot inside once due to the rain.

Rising with the sun, we headed to our next destination: a farm owned by a couple of expat aussies on the island of Aore. Given the smol shame of my Ni-Van colleagues to talk with Wayne and Lisa, I made my way up to their house to get permission, and then headed to the workers farmhouse were we, surprisingly, spel smol. We had a bit of a look around the farm, a swim off the WWII pontoon and then headed to a dry creekbed to lay the baits. This was a day that I should have stayed in bed, as a rock kakae’d my knee, I got stung by a hornet and my remaining pair of sunnies broke. Ignoring the increasingly red and hot patch on my arm and swelling of my knee, we made it back to the farm house, where Wayne and Lisa were slowly getting kava’d and waited till dark. Unfortunately, only one krab was caught at this site, although there was plenty of signs of krabs in the area.

Back to civilisation the next day, as the rain prevented us getting to our final site in South West Santo, due to rivers that couldn’t be passed. Plenty of washing to do but great to get out of the office and see some other areas of Santo.

Some final thoughts:

At every site there was evidence of old baits. The purpose of the expedition is to gather information to see whether a 3 year ban on Crab Coconus has worked, and whether it should be reinstated for another 3 years. The lifecycle of the Crab Coconus requires 6 years before they reproduce. In comparison with previous data, there hasn’t been a significant increase in numbers or sizes of Crab Coconus… so while the ban has stopped people selling, it hasn’t stopped people eating them in the villages. At the end of the day, it will be up to the communities to decide the future of Crab Coconus in their area: do they want their pikinini to kakae rice and tinned fish (standard faire in many villages) or have the opportunity to taste Crab Coconus in the future.