Rare invasive crab found in Columbia River; first sighting in Pacific N
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All on Sun Jun 22 00:42:42 2025
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PORTLAND, Ore. — A commercial fisherman turned up an exceptionally
rare find on the Columbia River last month when he caught a Chinese
mitten crab, which is prohibited in Oregon. The invasive species
caused damage in and around San Francisco and Sacramento in the
1990s, but it's never been spotted before in the Pacific Northwest.
Even 30 years later, it's still a mystery how the crab species
found its way to the Bay Area, and now the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has a new iteration of the same mystery on
its hands — or rather, in a freezer in the agency's office in
Astoria.
"The Chinese mitten crab, it's the first time it’s been seen in the
Pacific Northwest, so that’s big news ... because it’s an invasive
species," said Matt Hunter with ODFW.
The fisherman caught the male Chinese mitten crab in late April in
Cathlamet Bay, about 20 miles upstream from the mouth of the
Columbia River. He knew it wasn't supposed to be there and quickly
called ODFW to turn it in.
"The biologist that works with the salmon fisheries, they
immediately sent me a photo and they said 'is this bad?'" Hunter
said. "I said 'yes, bring it to the office right away.'"
The invasive species has the ability to stay out of water longer
than a typical crab, and they're interesting because they can go
back and forth between freshwater and saltwater over the course of
their lives, according to Hunter. But in environments like the
Columbia River, they can pose a problem for native wildlife.
"They’re going to be eating larger prey as adults, and we already
have endangered species listed, fish in the Columbia," Hunter said.
"Yeah, it’s a little bit of a concern."
The crabs can also go after seaweed and other aquatic grasses that
are important to the region's native species.
As for how the crab got in the Columbia River, that’s what Hunter
and his team are trying to figure out. There's only the one so far,
and officials are hoping that's the end of it, but anyone who
happens to catch another Chinese mitten crab is asked not to keep
it and to instead immediately report it to ODFW.
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