The land crab Cardisoma carnifex is widely distributed along the Indian and Pacific Ocean coasts. Despite contributing to the diet of local, often marginalized communities, there is limited information available on its biology, ecology and harvest. In this communication, incidental observations on the reproductive ecology of the species and the results of some preliminary interviews with local community members regarding the harvest of the species and associated Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) are summerized. Field observations indicated that this species is reproductively active during the southwest monsoon season and larval release is nocturnal, synchronised with the full moon and spring high tide. Members of the Ranchi and Karen communities provided concurring information on its behaviour and noted that larval release happens only at night during the monsoon months. It is found that Ranchi communities in Andaman harvest C. carnifex at the time of mass larval release, but not the Karen communities. Larval release by C. carnifex in the Andaman Islands likely varies spatially with adult densities and is synchronised with the monsoon, lunar phase and nocturnal spring high tides.

Land crab, Local Ecological Knowledge, Cardisoma carnifex, Andaman Islands