New York City authorities are looking to prevent invasive crabs from threatening native marine life and increasing the risk of riverbank flooding.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) recently issued a warning about hairy crabs, also known as eggplants, urging people who catch the crab to put it in the freezer and call local authorities, according to Mail. Hairy crabs have been recorded on the Hudson River, Nissequogue and Long Island Sound estuaries.
Marine scientists also worry that invasive hairy crabs could crowd out many vulnerable local species and change the food chain. According to them, this species of crab moves between salt and brackish water, potentially causing ecosystem disruption through competition with native marine life.
NYDEC describes hairy crabs (Eriocheir sinensis), native to East Asia, are predators that can change entire food webs as they forage for native fish eggs and invertebrates. The burrowing habits of hairy crabs can make river banks less stable and increase erosion, leading to the risk of flooding and reduced habitat. Hairy crabs are light brown or olive in color and only develop pincers when mature. The crab’s claws have thick brown bristles, leading to the name hairy crab.
Commercial shrimp trawlers brought hairy crabs to the United States in 1992. They first established populations in San Francisco Bay. A delicacy in Asia, this species is illegally imported into markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The US does not license the import, export or sale of live hairy crabs.
Live hairy crabs were first recorded in New York in 2007 in a commercial crab trap in the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge. NYDEC urges the public to check and remove debris and mud from boats, trawlers and equipment, and be on the lookout for hairy crabs. Conservation authorities recommend that if people discover hairy crabs, they should catch them, take photos and freeze them for later analysis.
NYDEC is part of the Hairy Crab Network, a collaborative program between states, the federal government and research organizations that has successfully eradicated invasive crabs from the west coast of the United States since 2010. The last live case of hairy crabs has been discovered. confirmed in the Chesapeake Bay near the Patapsco River flowing through Maryland in 2014.