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Warning of Chinese crabs on the march
Yorkshire Post Today ^ | 08 February 2006 | Dave Mark

Posted on 02/08/2006 8:02:32 AM PST by Willie Green

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To: Willie Green
In the service, we respectfully referred to these creatures as Mechanized Lice to the lady at the sick call desk.
21 posted on 02/08/2006 8:11:00 AM PST by FreedomFarmer (Push Me, Shove You - Oh, Yeah? Says Who? Push Me, Shove You -Oh, Yeah? Says Who?)
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To: AmericaUnite

An old fisherman told me about a new species of crab in the waters of New England. Wasn't too clear a story though. Like most old fishermen, he was bombed.


22 posted on 02/08/2006 8:11:14 AM PST by the gillman@blacklagoon.com ( You'll love Laffey! http://www.electlaffey.com Chafeehas2go)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

23 posted on 02/08/2006 8:12:27 AM PST by 76834 (There's nothing wrong with sobriety in moderation.)
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To: EveningStar

ping. It's the Crab People again!


24 posted on 02/08/2006 8:12:43 AM PST by dynachrome ("Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?")
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To: AmericaUnite

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1113_031113_mittencrabs.html


25 posted on 02/08/2006 8:12:48 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Carry Daily, Apply Sparingly.)
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To: Willie Green

http://www.wsg.washington.edu/outreach/mas/nis/mittencrab.html


26 posted on 02/08/2006 8:12:55 AM PST by Vaquero (time again for the Crusades.)
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To: Willie Green

First-ever Migratory Freshwater Crab in the St. Lawrence River

Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis)


A Surprising Discovery in the Water of the St. Lawrence River

While conducting sampling activities in the Quebec City area, Yves de Lafontaine, a research scientist at the St. Lawrence Centre, was approached by a fisherman about an unusual catch he’d made on September 2, 2004. The strange-looking crab was caught in an eel trap near Lévis (Saint-Romuald), on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, just opposite Quebec City.

The live specimen was identified as a Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis), so called for its hairy claws that resemble paws. According to experts at the St. Lawrence Centre and the Parc Aquarium du Québec, this is a female of approximately one and a half years old, weighing 40 g and with a carapace of 4.6 cm wide. The species is considered one of the 100 most invasive species on the planet.

This is the first sighting of this exotic species in the waters of the St. Lawrence River, although a few individuals were found in the Great Lakes in the 1970s.

Odd Behaviour

The Chinese Mitten Crab is catadromous and therefore requires both fresh and salt water to complete its life cycle and ensure the establishment and maintenance of the population. Adult crabs migrate from fresh water to salt water to reproduce. Following the larval period, juvenile crabs migrate to fresh water, where they grow and mature. The species migrates over distances of up to 500 km in the rivers of Europe and Asia.


An Invasive Crab

The Chinese Mitten Crab is a native of the rivers and estuaries of the Yellow Sea, between China and Korea. It was introduced by accident in Germany in 1912 and has spread to many European countries and, most recently to England. It established itself in San Francisco Bay on the U.S. west coast in 1992. In Canada, its presence was noted for the first time in 1965 in the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario, then in Lake Erie in 1973.


A Disturbing Discovery!

In the Great Lakes, this species is thought to be incapable of establishing itself on a long-term basis because of its catadromous nature. Its presence in the water near Quebec City, however, entails a risk of the population establishing itself in the St. Lawrence River and its estuary. Due to the very invasive nature of this species, the tributaries of the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, including the Saguenay River, are also perceived as areas at risk.

The species burrows into riverbanks, leading to their erosion and collapse. They are also known to block the water intakes in irrigation canals.


27 posted on 02/08/2006 8:13:10 AM PST by The Mayor ( Check out my site http://www.rusthompson.com/HomeImprovementandRemodelingTips.html)
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To: Willie Green

Import some of those infected Costa Rican frogs, that ought to fix them.


28 posted on 02/08/2006 8:14:43 AM PST by Old Professer (Fix the problem, not the blame!)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

It's hideous!
29 posted on 02/08/2006 8:14:47 AM PST by SquirrelKing (Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.)
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To: Willie Green

"Warning of Chinese crabs on the march"

In theaters soon - March of the Crabs, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Next year's documentary Oscar winner.


30 posted on 02/08/2006 8:16:12 AM PST by PCBMan (I aim to misbehave.)
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To: Willie Green
I'm serious... How does a crab catch or endanger a fish? I thought crabs were scavengers that ate dead fish (or chicken).
31 posted on 02/08/2006 8:16:29 AM PST by babygene (Viable after 87 trimesters)
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To: Willie Green
I got two words for you...


32 posted on 02/08/2006 8:17:45 AM PST by Hatteras
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To: The Mayor

Hmmmmm. They block intakes. Then power plant operators can get freshly cooked crab for midnight meals by just goign to the outlet water boxes of the condensers!


33 posted on 02/08/2006 8:17:49 AM PST by nuke rocketeer
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To: SlowBoat407

"I'm guessing that because it is a pest, it tastes bad."

Just looked on WolfGang Puck's site. They taste almost exactly like blue crabs.


34 posted on 02/08/2006 8:19:36 AM PST by MeanWestTexan (Many at FR would respond to Christ "Darn right, I'll cast the first stone!")
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To: nuke rocketeer

The intakes for the Niagara Power authority is 5 miles from me..


35 posted on 02/08/2006 8:19:58 AM PST by The Mayor ( Check out my site http://www.rusthompson.com/HomeImprovementandRemodelingTips.html)
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To: Willie Green

"..mitten crabs, which can grow to the size of a dinner plate.."

If I were a crab, that's a comparison that would make me extremely nervous... :)


36 posted on 02/08/2006 8:20:21 AM PST by Pessimist
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To: Willie Green

Now we've got to worry about the Chinese crabs???


37 posted on 02/08/2006 8:20:40 AM PST by Savage Beast ("Democrats are rumbling toward the November elections as the American Al Qaeda Party." ~jmaroneps37)
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To: MeanWestTexan
They taste almost exactly like blue crabs.

Hmmm ... The Brits already have good beer/ale. I'm sure we can sell them a few thousand tonnes of Old Bay Seasoning.

38 posted on 02/08/2006 8:21:24 AM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: N3WBI3

Holy cow! That's the creature that clamped onto the guys face in Alien

39 posted on 02/08/2006 8:22:10 AM PST by dennisw ("What one man can do another can do" - The Edge)
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To: Savage Beast

Maybe they could be a source for bio-fuel


40 posted on 02/08/2006 8:23:44 AM PST by 76834 (There's nothing wrong with sobriety in moderation.)
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