Decreasing Crabs

[Anchor Lead]

The blue crab season has begun in the sea off Taean on the west coast of Korea. But fishermen are having a hard time this year because they can catch fewer crabs compared to previous years.

[Pkg]

​A fishing boat returns to the pier from the sea. The shrimp and crabs caught overnight are being unloaded. But there are only one or two boxes of blue crabs.

[Soundbite] (Captain of fishing boat) : "Last year during this time, we used to catch around 100-150kg, but today it's just 10kg."

The amount of crab catch is just one-third of what it used to be in previous years. But prices of the blue crab have soared, as demand for Ganjang Gaejang, or crabs marinated in soy sauce, a popular Korean cuisine, keeps rising. A kilogram of blue crabs is sold for around 45,000 won at port markets in Taean. That's about a 10,000 won on-year spike.

[Soundbite] Choi Eun-kyung(CEO of fisheries firm) : "It is available to consumers for KRW 50,000-53,000 per kilogram on the market."

The amount of blue crabs is expected to double next week when the seawater temperature rises. But prices of the blue crab are expected to remain high for the time being as crab catch continues to diminish.