Mitten Crab No. 2
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- December
- 12
A second mitten crab, an invasive crab from east Asia, has been discovered in the Hudson River  raising worries that the exotic crab may establish a population in the river and threaten native species, such as blue crabs. (In the link above, Click on “Update” under “New Species Alert.”)
An e-mail sent out this week to the Mitten Crab Network confirmed that the crab in question, which washed up in Cold Spring in Putnam County in October, was indeed a mitten crab. The first one ever found in the Hudson was hauled in by a commercial fisherman in June near Nyack.
According to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 11 confirmed mitten crabs have been found in the Mid-Atlantic region, mostly in the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay. The one found in Cold Spring was the first juvenile, but scientists “still cannot confirm a self sustaining population in the Mid- Atlantic region.”
In addition to threatening native aquatic populations, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the non-native crabs could also damage stream banks and earthen dam stability with their burrowing habits, leading to erosion and habitat loss.
To understand how they got their name, check out their claws.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 4:46 pm by Mike Risinit.
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Journal News staff writer Greg Clary writes Earth Watch, reporting on environmental issues in the lower Hudson region. Clary has been a reporter, editor and columnist at the Journal News since 1988 and has covered police and courts, transportation, municipal government, development and the environment in the Lower Hudson Valley, among other topics. 
Laura Incalcaterra covers the environment, open space and zoning and planning issues for The Journal News. A Boston College graduate, Laura grew up in Rockland, attended East Ramapo schools and has worked for The Journal News since 1993. Laura has written features and covered North Rockland, crime, government and a host of other issues.
Mike Risinit covers Patterson and Kent in Putnam County, as well as environmental topics touching on the Hudson River and the Great Swamp. Risinit has been a reporter at The Journal News since 1998.
