Chinese Mitten Crab

	Chinese Mitten Crab
Scientific name: Eriocheir sinensis (ITIS) Common name: Chinese mitten crab
	Spotlight: Mitten Crab Watch Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.Are you a crabber, waterman, or concerned citizen? SERCneeds your help to detect and assess the status of Chinese Mitten Crabs along the Atlantic and the Gulf Coasts. This site provides information on the invasion of the mitten crab and allows users to more easily report catches.  Mitten Crabs can have economic and ecological impacts in their introduced range, especially during periods of high abundance. Effects of mitten crabs on the East Coast are not yet known, because this is a relatively recent invasion and has not been studied. The first confirmed record on the East Coast was in 2005, a crab was caught by a commercial crabber in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, Maryland. Selected Resources Native To: Pacific coast of China and Korea (NAS Database) Date of U.S. Introduction: 1991 (West Coast); 2005 (East Coast) (NAS Database) Means of Introduction: Ballast water (also possibly through intentional releases) (Cohen and Carlton 1997) Impact: Interference with fish salvage operations, fish passage facilities, water treatment plants, power plants, and other facilities (Cohen and Weinstein 2001) Current U.S. Distribution: West Coast; Great Lakes; Chesapeake Bay Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database: Point Map - Chinese Mitten Crab DOI. USGS. Southeast Ecological Science Center. Provides detailed collection information as well as animated map. Federally Regulated: Listed as injurious wildlife under the Federal Lacey Act, which makes it illegal in the U.S. to import, export, or transport between States without a permit DOI. FWS. Fish and Aquatic Conservation. Images: Chinese Mitten Crab Google.com.