Among wild-caught seafood fishing methods, the swimming crab fishery is one of Vietnam's largest export-value fisheries, second only to the tuna fishery, and currently engages about 20,000 fishermen. Crab fishing in Vietnam primarily involves the exploitation of red and blue swimming crab. Red swimming crab is scattered across the country, while the exploitation of blue swimming crab is mainly concentrated in An Giang province, with an annual catch fluctuating between 6,000 and 8,000 tons per year. This fishery involves approximately 20,000 fishermen from the coastal areas within the province.

    In addition to meeting domestic food demand, the blue swimming crab catch is also processed and mainly exported to the US market.

    The Kien Giang Blue Swimming Crab Fishery Improvement Project (now An Giang province) was implemented by the former Kien Giang Provincial People's     Committee (now An Giang) and the Crab Council under the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). The coordinating unit included WWF Vietnam and consulting units such as the Research Institute for Marine Fisheries (RIMF) and the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang (IO). VASEP's Crab Council comprises businesses that process and export crab to the US market.