South Jersey Shore, NJ — The Chinese Mitten Crab has been found in the Raritan and Barnegat bays. The crab spends most of its life in fresh water and then migrates to salt water to breed. Unlike most crabs, it walks rather than swims and can travel hundreds of miles including walking over land.
A native of Asia, the Mitten Crab started showing up in the United states starting in 1993. In 2006, it was found in the Chesapeake Bay, By 2007, it was found in the both the Delaware Bay and Hudson Bay. How it got here is uncertain, but identifying it is easy. The claws are covered in fur up to the ends where two white tips stick out. Anybody that catches one is asked not to return it to the water and to call the state’s Marine Fisheries Office.
The effects on the environment are still being studied. “It is too early to tell if they will be a threat. They could all disappear. There are no new sightings in the Chesapeake since 2007, so they could have died off. It could be an intermittent type of thing,” said Linda Barry of he state Division of Fish and Wildlife. Others are concerned that the crabs can clog water intakes and outlets, cause erosion to the banks due to their deep burrows, or have a negative impact on local species.