Peninsula all-media reporter Yin Yanxin
After the seedlings are released in May, the local breeding crab in Qingdao that has grown for four months has been put on the market, because of its high fertility and delicious taste, the breeding of the crab is highly sought after by the traders, and the farmers are currently under the net at three or four o'clock in the morning, specializing in catching male crabs with higher fatness. Affected by the small number of sea-caught pike crabs and the approach of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price of farmed pike crabs has risen all the way, and has reached the price of 80 yuan per catty, and the price is expected to reach about 120 yuan during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fishing pike crabs, farmers pinch the nets
At about 3 o'clock in the morning on September 8, Mr. Ji, a farmer near the Luojiaying sea area, and the workers drove a small boat to unload the net in their own breeding pond, and a customer booked today's pike crab. "Our crab seedlings were released in May this year, and now is the time when the male crabs are at their fattest, just in time for this wave of festival markets." Mr. Ji told reporters that there is a reason why he chose to catch crabs under the net at this point. "In the first half of the night, it is the time period when the female crab activity is more frequent, if the net is early, there will be more female crabs hanging the net, and the female crab is not very fat at this time. At three or four o'clock in the morning, it is the time when male crabs are active, and at this time, more male crabs can be caught under the net, and the fertility is good. ”
Aquaculture area in the Luojiaying sea area
At seven or eight o'clock in the morning, Master Ji and the workers, who had breakfast, drove a small boat to set up the net, picked off the pike crabs hanging on the net, tied them up and put them in the crab basket. "The scheduled merchants will basically come to collect the crabs at this time, and after they check and reduce the weighing, the money and goods will be cleared." Mr. Ji told reporters that two baskets of goods were sold today, more than 80 catties, "a total of more than 6,000 yuan." ”
A staff member is plucking a pike crab from a net
On the north side, not far from Mr. Ji's pike crab breeding pond, the pike crabs in Mr. Yu's breeding pond are also harvesting. "Today is our second day of fishing, you see, this crab is fat one by one, one is about half a catty, very good!" When the net was collected by boat, Mr. Yu, a farmer, told reporters, "I have 80 acres in this pond, and I raised crabs in the first year of this year, and tried the water, from the current situation, the effect is good, and this year has also caught up with the good market, and I should be able to have a good income." ”
The workers plucked the crabs from the net and put them on the board, and at harvest time, the workers also showed the reporter the fat large crabs. After all the crabs are picked, take out the prepared leather buckles and tie up the two large crab claws and put them in the basket.
Looking at the big crabs hanging on the Internet, Mr. Yu smiled from ear to ear. "The quality of the crab fry is good, judging from the two-day fishing here, the water test is relatively successful, and next year we can consider expanding the scale of breeding and raising crabs in several other shrimp ponds." Mr. Yu has already started his plans for next year.
Prices continue to rise, and locally farmed pike crabs become "fragrant and sweet"
On the same day, Mr. Yu laid two nets and caught about eighty or ninety catties of crabs. "Now this market has a price a day, we ship a little every day, and the later it comes out, the better the price." Mr. Yu said that now that the price is in demand, they are a little reluctant to sell.
The staff shows the harvested pike crabs
The reporter learned that although the island city has been opened to the sea, the price is higher than in previous years due to the low overall output of pike crabs this year. "Especially near the Mid-Autumn Festival, high-quality pike crabs have become 'hard currency', and the price is rising, and Qingdao's locally farmed pike crabs have won a reputation in the market for their excellent quality." Mr. Ji told reporters that the delivery price of pike crabs has been rising in the past few days. "Today's price has risen to more than 80 yuan, and it is estimated that the price will rise in the next week, and the highest may exceed 120 yuan."
Bundled crabs in baskets
According to Mr. Ji, the price of local pike crabs in Qingdao this year is about 20 to 30 yuan more expensive than last year. "There will definitely be a profit this year, but the output is expected to be lower than last year. Too much rain in the early part of the year has reduced the concentration of seawater in the ponds, which has led to a decrease in the production of local pike crabs this year. ”
Vendors: The quality of locally farmed pike crabs is guaranteed, and there are many repeat customers
Xiao Zheng is Mr. Ji's regular purchaser, and Mr. Zheng gave Mr. Zheng a thumbs up to the pike crabs that Mr. Ji farmed. "Compared with sea-caught pike crabs, the biggest advantage of locally farmed crabs is that the quality is stable, so that customers can eat them."
Mr. Ji calculated an account for the reporter. "In recent days, the whole basket of goods in the wholesale market is about 60 yuan, of which the good and the bad are there, like our quality to pick out the quantity will not be much, it is good to have a third, it is often about 120 yuan to sell to customers, and the quality is not good to 40 yuan." Mr. Ji said that some fixed vendors often have regular customers, and if you give people who are not very good, they will smash the sign, "In this case, it is not as secure as our farmed pike crabs, and it is not more expensive than sea-caught pike crabs." ”
The pike crabs harvested on the board of the boat are about to be bundled into baskets
"You get what you pay for, we are fed pure natural bait, the farmed crabs eat better than the wild, the natural growth is good, the quality is good, and our local crabs in Qingdao are better than some sea catches in the south, and everyone who has tasted them knows." Mr. Ji said.
According to Mr. Ji, due to the difference in the growth of male crabs and female crabs, male crabs are more fat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and to taste fatty female crabs, you need to wait until before and after the frost and solar terms. "At that time, female crabs would have crab roe, and the taste was very good."
Seafood farming is risky, and farmers are most afraid of God "changing face"
Barracuda crabs are expensive, and farmers invest just as much. "I have 80 acres of pike crabs here, and the sea sand (scientific name: blue clams) is put into the sea every day. A food for pike crabs. There are fifty or sixty packs, and the cost is about five or six thousand yuan a day. Master Yu told reporters that only by giving enough food can crabs grow well and ensure fertility.
"We also have to observe the situation of the sea sand being fed by the crabs every day, if the sea sand is fed too much and accumulates at the bottom of the pond, it will also affect the quality of the breeding water, and then affect the growth of the crabs." Mr. Ji told reporters that every night when the crabs were eating, they would patrol the pond to check the remaining sea sand for feeding.
"Aquaculture must not be sloppy, water quality is a big hurdle." Master Ji said that before feeding crab seedlings, you need a clean pool. "After drying the water for a period of time, we will destroy the bacteria and viruses in the original pool, and after introducing the seawater, we will also cultivate zooplankton to diversify the nutrients in the pond and increase food for the crabs."
The crab growth period is four or five months, and during this time, farmers are most afraid that God will not "appreciate the food" to eat. "Like this year, the continuous high temperature and rain have brought a lot of harm to the pike crabs and shrimp in the pond, and the salinity in the pond has decreased, resulting in the death of some bamboo shrimp and crabs."
"Then there is the continuous low temperature in winter, and the sea surface is frozen, which is also a disaster for our farmers." Mr. Ji said that there are risks in farming, there are big and small years, there are profits and losses, and the key is to calm down the mentality. "Do what we have to do, and the rest will be eaten by God."