He used to spend endless hours on his boat, skimming the salty waters of the Indian Ocean, searching for his crustacean prey in the fish-rich areas of Pate, Manda, and Lamu islands, which make up the larger Lamu archipelago.
With the invaluable guidance of Wetlands International aquaculture specialists, Abdalla undertook a pioneering initiative in July last year: the cultivation of giant mud crabs.
With this endeavor, he hoped to outperform the meager returns from his old-fashioned crab hunts, which frequently produced only one catch per day. For the new venture, however, he was to buy crablets.