Feds seize 3K of invasive crabs in Ohio
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Port of Cincinnati intercepted 51 shipments — about 3,400 pounds or 3,700 crustaceans — of invasive mitten crabs over the past four months, agency officials announced.
The seizures in the Cincinnati area were part of a national enforcement effort code-named “Hidden Mitten” led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which prevented the illegal and potentially harmful import into the U.S. of about 15,000 live Chinese mitten crabs, that agency said. The shipments originated in China and Hong Kong and were destined for residences and businesses in multiple states, although most were headed to New York, federal officials said.
Chinese mitten crabs are one of North America’s most invasive species and pose a serious threat to humans and the environment, federal officials said. In high densities, they can cause a number of problems. The crabs may out-compete native species for food and space; undermine flood levees and cause stream bank erosion; clog screens, pumps and water intake structures at fish collection facilities and power plants; and hurt commercial and recreational fishing industries by consuming bait and damaging fishing nets.
Mitten crabs are considered a culinary delicacy in Asia and are smuggled into the U.S. in large quantities in preparation for Chinese New Year and other cultural events, officials said. Each crab can retail for as much as $50.
The species is also a carrier of Oriental lung fluke, a parasitic disease that can be transferred to humans in raw or undercooked crab meat. Tests have not shown any Oriental lung fluke in any of the mitten crabs seized within the U.S.
Smugglers had falsely declared the shipments as T-shirts, jeans, auto part samples, shopping bags, photo albums and other commercial products, officials said.