how the mitten crab got here

There are two ideas about how the crab got here. One is ballast water. When a ship delivers stuff, they fill up the ship with water so it's balanced for the return trip. When the ship gets back, it releases the water and all the animals in it. So if a ship came from China, it might have had crabs in the ballast water, or they may have crawled in the ship. Another other idea is that someone wanted to open a restaurant and serve mitten crabs because they're a considered a “delicacy” in Asia.

The mitten crabs were first found in Califronia in 1993. They were discovered in East Palo Alto by a 10 year old girl named Michele Sanders. She found the crab in the San Francisquito River. In 1996 scientiest trappd 45 in a fish screen; two years later, in one day alone, 25,000 crabs were caught at the same fish screens. Another thing that is they can get up and walk away, over reservoirs and down the street, so they can move from place to place. The crab has cost a lot of money. Just finding out about the damage the crabs are causing cost more than $100,000 in 1999.

Mitten Crab in a restaurant

Steamed Chinese Mitten Crab

3,200 / 1piece

Chinese Mitten Crabs walking over a reservior

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1998/11/29/SPORTS11268.dtl

http://www.iisgcp.org/EXOTICSP/images/chineses_mitten_crab/crab_3b.jpg

www.htl-pacific.co.jp/Grand/ restaurants/rolan.htm